Going Back
by kittyge
Summary: Mai is back after a few years, and Joey has moved on. Alone, she discovers a bond with the most unlikely person. Yet something stands in the way. . . like the all too familiar call of power. . .
1. Chapter 1

Hey, it's my newest story! So uh yay for me! But anyway it's a story about Mai, but other characters too and this little intro is in her POV, I'm still unsure wether or not the whole thing will be in her POV, or various POV's. . . because well. . . you'll see! But any who I'll let you know what goes on!

Disclaimer: I don't own YGO b/c if I did. . . well things would be different!

* * *

Rain slowly poured down all around me. Each drop hit my head. It reminded me that I was alive and not dreaming this moment. I was barely standing myself. The only thing holding my up was my pride.

Well, what was left of it anyway. Of course I spent most of my time building it back up. I glanced over at my car. My newMustang was totally demolished. Half of me blames the rain and the slippery roads. Yet the other half blames him.

Maybe it's not fair that I blame him. Yet he was the one tailgating. I could hardly make out the road in front of me. Yet I was persistent. I had to make it into Domino tonight. It was planned.

See after I left Domino, I wanted a change. Unfortunately I didn' t have the change I wanted. I tried to rise my status in the dueling world. Battle after battle I won. Fight after fight I was the victor. Seeing the fear installed on my opponents face brought me back to the days before Battle City.

Of course I was only a shell of a woman after that. It was really pointless of me to continue with dueling. Yet it was all I ever knew of. I breathed it. It was my life. It was my passion. Yet it kept failing me. I would sit at cafes and bars and watch the news. . .

I would heard about Joey and Yugi. They were going so far in the dueling world and I was stuck. The nightmares started haunting me soon after. The woman I once one was gone. I was alone and for the first time in my life, scared.

Then it happened. I let some stupid kid get me upset. They didn't even know I was there, listening on their conversation. Who am I to eavesdrop? Yet I did. I guess he was embarrassed to lose to me. It hurt and I didn't know why. I was always beyond emotions like love and pain. I was always the cut and dry type of girl. What I said went.

Somewhere along my life I changed. It was because of Joey. Every wall I ever built, he tore down. I didn't get it. I don't know why I let him lie to me and to show me the wonders of friendship. It wasn't doing me any good then. I soon found this out as I slumped to the ground of some filthy alley.

It was raining that day, just like this one. Luckily my tears mixed with the rain and they were unidentifiable. Only I knew I had sunk so low to crying. I wanted a change. I needed something. I needed to feel something but the pain. I don't remember what pain it was. It was many years ago, but I think it was the pain of being alone.

I'm not sure, but it was unbearable. It hurt worse than any physical pain. I would do anything and I did. He approached me. Valon. He beat me in a duel. I guessed that really killed my pride. Then he said he could help me.

Maybe I was that desperate for attention. Maybe I was so alone that anybody would have done. Maybe I believed him. Actually it was all three of those reasons. I allowed him to take me to the man who could give me that. Dartz.

He knew me better than I knew myself. He knew all about my pain and my past. He could make it go away. I believed him. When he touched my head I felt a rush of power I had never felt before.

It was as if my insides were being torn in two. Suddenly all the pain was gone. It felt like I had gotten really drunk and I was beyond comprehension. Yet everything was clear. Everything was cut and dry again. I could only feel one emotion. Rage. I grasped onto this feeling and I wouldn't let it go.

Thunder boomed in the background. It brought me back to my senses. I stared at the person who just got out of his car. His car of course was some old blue thing. The front of it was smashed up. The windshield had cracks up and down it. unfortunately he didn't get his back ran into while his front skidded into a tree.

I'm still shaky, but I'm standing. Maybe it's the rush of sudden memories that makes me want to fall over. Maybe it's the fact that I just survived one hell of a crash without a scratch. The man was looking over the crash scene. He seemed more mature since the last I saw him, which was many years ago.

I remember that day perfectly. I rode away on my motorcycle. I had to fix my life. I ended up in New York City. I don't even know how I made it there. I just did. I rented a hotel with a little bit of money I had with me and freshened up. I went to a modeling agency and was hired right away.

I suppose that's unusual. I guess no matter how ugly I feel on the inside, I am still beautiful on the outside. I don't care how stuck-up it sounds, I am not ugly. I was instantly on the cover of the magazine company I was working for.

Somehow I contributed my ideas into the magazine. They excepted them and I worked my way into the company. I eventually ended up on the committee. I maybe be blonde, but I am far from stupid. I just don't judge people well. Anyway, because of lack of funds, they were going to hand over the business to Kaiba Corp.

I couldn't have that. With the money I had saved and the money I had earned I bought the company. I improved the magazine. I changed it to a magazine for teenage girls rather than 35 year old women. The business immediately boomed. We started to branch out all over the world.

Each year, I open up a new office in a new country. I throw a dart at a map and wherever it lands, that's where I build my new office. Of course I use the closest biggest city, but that's beside the point.

I don't know how or why the dart landed on Domino City as my temporary home, but it did. Part of me was happy. I was finally going back.

Honestly I don't know what to expect. I didn't even know if I would see them. Somewhere deep inside of me, I wanted too.

I guess that brings me to where I am. The man turned to look at me. Lighting went off behind him. It lightened his face. I can only stare into the honey-brown eyes. For some reason they are staring right back at me. I'm searching for any emotion.

Then I realized something. I can't read them. They are void. I wonder if mine are the same. I came here hoping to see him. Now I just want to run away, like I always do. Yet my feet stay stranded to the spot.

I want to run over to him. I want to tell him how I've gotten better. Rage no longer controls my actions. No words can come out of my mouth. Somewhere deep inside of me is a voice. It's not a 'your going crazy' kind of voice, it's a internal voice. It's telling me that this isn't going to end good.

The thunder booms again.


	2. What Are You Up To Now?

_As you can see the beginning POV is in Joey's! But uh no reviews for the first chappie. . . which is cool with me ,whatever, but remember to review if you want and if you don't that's cool. . . thanks for checking the story out and what not!_

**Disclaimer: **_I don't own YGO. . . or anything dealing with that. . .

* * *

_

**Joey's POV**

Okay . . . the thunder in the background is really distracting.

But at least it tears me away from the throbbing in my leg and in my head. I know that some part of me hit my steering wheel sometime during that crash . . . and I can assure anybody it wasn't a pleasant feeling.

In fact I can assure anyone I'm far from feeling pleasant right now. I feel more nauseated than anything. What else is new right? I can't control the thoughts in my head . . . or the words coming out of my mouth.

Guess that was always a major flaw of me.

I heard her sigh and I scratched the back of my head. It's a nervous condition I guess. She turned toward me and I bit my lip a little bit too hard. Her eyes are huge and empty . . . and the awkward silence filling up the street is well . . . awkward.

Suddenly she opens her mouth and I give a small sigh of relief, I'm never good at opening statements.

"What were you thinking? Tailgating me like that! I can barely see you now through the rain let alone see anything through a moving vehicle! I can't believe how wreckless you are! I mean I get that you're in a hurry but speeding is bad enough . . . let alone tailgating me . . . I mean do you have any idea how much that car cost me? I mean look at it. It's beyond repair!" she yelled.

She never did beat around the bush. Where does she get off yelling at me like that? I mean . . . I was in a hurry. It's not totally my fault . . . a snail was going faster than she was. Besides wasn't she the one who drove off on a motorcycle, and she's calling me wreckless?

I can see her holding her head and she's still muttering. She was always one for expensive things and long rants.

"I'm sorry." I said . . . even though she had no right to flip out . . . out of experience I learned just to apologize.

"What?" was her answer. I know I rolled my eyes, luckily it's raining so hard she didn't see.

"I'm sorry . . . you're right . . . it's my fault." I agreed. That's all you could ever do . . . just numbly agree with her. She nodded and pulled out her cell-phone and dialed some number I couldn't see.

This gave me a chance to look at her. She looked the same and completely different at the same time. I know . . . it sounds strange to me but she does. Her short-tight outfits of long ago are gone and now she's wearing flared jeans and a suede jacket that fits around her nicely.

But of course now that's ruined and if I don't hear about that then I know the world will be over. I glance at her empty arm as she chatts away totally oblivious to me. I can picture the duel disk that should be hanging there.

But it wasn't . . . and for some reason I put my arm behind my back.

Yes I still dueled . . . yes Yug still duels occasionally . . . when Kaiba begs him . . . so what? I make a lot of money and so does he. Besides I'm a celebrity . . . and well okay, it's only on rare occasions I duel. But I do duel in big tournaments so that's something right?

I hear a splash and it snaps me back to reality. I just realized how freezing it was. Mai threw her phone on the ground and was now stomping on it . . . and I can clearly see she has some issues to deal with.

"Stupid cab . . . won't be here for another 30 minutes . . . I'll have to freeze out here for another half-an-hour." she whined . . . which was unusual for her.

"At least it's not snowing." I said, hoping she'll laugh at my optimism.

"Shut up Wheeler! If you weren't tailgating, I wouldn't be stuck out here." she shot back without looking at me.

"What are you doing out here anyway?" I ask out of curiosity. She turns to look at me then and I gulp.

* * *

_**NORMAL POV**_

"I've been traveling, modeling and making my way in the business world. I own my own magazine company." Mai answered.

"Oh, wow that's impressive." Joey said, he was sure she would have pursued her passion to become the world's greatest duelist.

"What have you been up too?" Mai asked him. Her violet eyes had found her way toward his. He shuddered, he didn't want to tell her, but he did.

"Well, I've been dueling. I've become a student teacher at the duelist school. I also am engaged." Joey started out saying, but it eventually became a whisper. Those last words hit Mai hard. She nodded and let the words bounce off of her as if she didn't care anymore. Yet she couldn't fool herself, and she was afraid tears would burst out of her before she could respond.

"Oh." was all she could say.

"Have you been seeing anybody Mai?'' Joey asked her. Mai's gaze immediately went to the wrecked cars. She rubbed her shoulders as if to stall for time.

"Mai, are you okay?" Joey asked. He was concerned for her.

"Yeah, it's just that well, never mind. To answer your question, I haven't found anybody . . . else . . . there is nobody out there for me Joseph. But, I'm a loner . . . always have been. I don't need anybody." Mai told him. Silence crept between the two again. He just wanted to hold her and love her, but he couldn't.

"Listen, the cab will be here soon . . . I better get my purse." Mai said.

"Wait, what about the cars?" Joey asked. Mai shook her head. She really didn't care.

"I don't care, I'll pay for everything." she said. Joey had an idea.

"I'll duel for it!" he replied. She gave him a sad look.

"Joey, dueling is just a game. I quit a long time ago, and you should too. When I dueled, I was on top of the world, but I knew that feeling couldn't last for long. I don't duel any more." she told him. Joey sighed.

"I guess it is childish, but we did have some good times." he said hopefully. Mai gave him a small smile.

"I did miss you." he said. A tear ran down Mai's face but it was mixed with the rain and unnoticeable to Joey.

She nodded as the cab drove up. Mai got in without another word and Joey could only see her wet figure glance at him quickly through the window.

Joey did miss Mai. His friends told him it was better this way, that she didn't want to be with him. He knew that she did, but that she was afraid. He tried to move on, he did have a new girlfriend and they were happy, but Joey was still empty. The cab was out of sight now and Joey decided to walk into the city.

The raindrops hit him hard. They were stinging him. It's funny how life turns and changes before his very eyes. Seeing her brought back memories from long ago. For the first time in many years, he started to cry.

Mai bit her lip and inwardly cursed herself for thinking that he would wait for her. Valon was right when he said Joey would really leave her . . . Mai shook her head quickly of the thought and suddenly anger crept into her emotions . . .

"Who needs him?" she mused. She didn't. That's for sure. Besides her favorite suede jacket was ruined, but she couldn't help but wondered where he had walked off too . . .


	3. Hidden Anger Issues on Both Sides

**Hey new chapter! Uh yes! I want to thank those who reviewed! Anyway, I have it planned out in my head who will end up with who! But of course this come in time. . . just remember. . .things are not always what they seem. Then again this is YGO. . . so the whole thing goes without saying!**

5animefan- I agree! She is such an interesting character. . . which is why I was excited to write about her as an in-charge business woman with many emotional problems and a heart that she hides away from everyone!

MissDomaYuset- I guess it is depressing. . . but I wanted a more of a drama. . . depressing type of fic. . . the thing I love about Mai is how she tries to be tough, but it always ends up not working for her. . . I'm glad you liked the beginning. Hope I don't disappoint!

JxMobsessivlyDuH!- It's cool. . .you reviewing is all that matters! Oh. . . and don't necessarily count Joey out as a guy for Mai. . .she just has to consider ALL of her options. . . and they have to grow a little bit. . . (But I won't give anything else away!)

Disclaimer: I don't own YGO! But I do own Abby! Who's Abby? Read and find out! Review if you want!

_**Normal POV- Joey**_

Joey kicked the ground and unfortunately for him, it was much harder than he had meant too. A throbbing pain spread from his toe to his foot. It would be just another bruise on him. Like he really needed that.

He glanced down at his watch. He had just noticed it was cracked down the middle. Could it get any worse? There was the fact that he was running 15 minutes late, on a night that he swore up and down that he wouldn't be late for. The thing is, Joey Wheeler never broke a promise to a friend . . . guess he's starting something new.

His feet started to walk faster, giving way into a running motion and before he knew it he was standing across his apartment. It wasn't exactly hard to miss. It was the brick building with the porch that had yellow paint peeling off from it. The blue doorknob always falls off and the door is off of its hinges. Plus, if one didn't open it just right, they would experience a world full of splinters.

Joey knows. It's not that he didn't have money. He does. It's Abby, his fiancee. She wants the money saved for the wedding. She somehow convinced Joey to live in the same apartment he's lived in for years, and he kind of hates her for late.

But nobody would ever know, and Joey doubts he could even fully admit it to himself. He walkedup the porch and carefully opened the door and entered the building. Pools of water were following himfromhisfootsteps. He shook his head and opened his door.

Abby was glancing out the window, but she suddenly spun around. Anger crossed her face for a few seconds before utter relief overflowed her.

"Where's your car?" she asked.

"Wrecked it." Joey responded. Her green eyes became huge and she immediately started fussing over him, checking him over to make sure he was okay. She was a nurse after all. In fact that's how Joey met her . . . but that's another story.

"You seem okay . . . I was so worried about you!" she said excitedly as she threw her arms around him. He just stood there motionless.

"Uh . . . are you okay?" she asked as she let go of him. He looked up at her, lost for a second, before shaking his head in a yes motion.

"Good . . . so did you hit a tree or something?" she asked.

"Another person . . . but she was okay." he muttered while he gazed at a picture on the table. It was one of Abby, Yugi and himself. It was back when she wore her short, brown, hair, curly . . . she just wears it straight now. Ever since they got together, she doesn't care much about her appearance anymore, often taking a homely look.

It doesn't bother Joey . . . but sometimes he just wants exciting Abby . . . instead of boring, never wanting to do anything, Abby.

"Honey . . . I'm going to bed . . . wanna go?" she asked in a practiced voice. It was a daily question that bored Joey, and they weren't even married yet.

He didn't say anything . . . he didn't want to talk . . . he just wanted to stand there numbly. Getting a drink definitely crossed his mind, but Joey would not become his father . . . he hoped.

"What is it with you? You never talk to me anymore? It's Tea isn't it . . . I see how you two always pal around . . . " Abby yelled.

"Tea? What? Huh? I'm just a little stunned . . . I mean I did wreck and it was really bad . . . I mean . . . I could have died! You think I'm cheating on you? Where did you get that impression?" Joey snapped, anger rolling off of him in waves. Abby shrugged.

"Sorry . . . it's just that . . . you seem distant, I'm going to bed, wether you're coming or not is up to you." Abby said in a small voice. She left for the bedroom and Joey sighed.

He needed somebody to talk too . . . but Abby wouldn't understand . . . nobody would.

"I'm going to Yug's." Joey said. He heard Abby yell something back at him in a sarcastic voice but he didn't catch it.

Joey just slammed the door and ignored the fact that the doorknob was rolling on the porch.

He walked around for sometime, but quickly ended up at Yugi's . . . partly because he was beyond freezing. It ended up being midnight when Yugi finally answered the knocking sound at his door.

He rubbed his eyes and carefully opened the door. He was startled to see Joey. It was unusual, unless they were saving the world or something.

"Joey?" Yugi asked. Joey nodded and entered the Game Shop quickly.

"What's up?" Yugi asked as he retrieved Joey a blanket to stop his shivering.

"I got into a car wreck." Joey answered, avoiding Yugi's glare.

"Are you okay?" Yugi wondered with hysteria dripping off of every word.

"Yes, no, I don't know." Joey muttered as he sat on the couch in the upstairs part of the shop. Yugi only glanced at him in a confused matter.

"Uh . . . right." was Yugi's only response. Joey quickly explained the wreck, leaving the important detail of whom he wrecked without of the story.

"Well hey, you're okay . . . she's okay . . . and she's paying for it . . . it turned out good." Yugi told him.

"I don't think she's okay this time Yug." Joey said.

"This time?" Yugi explained. Joey was just about to explain when Yugi heard another knock at the door. He rolled his eyes and muttered something about him not needing sleep.

"Wait Yug. . . " Joey said while grabbing his arm.

"I Gotta gets the door." Yugi said. Joey bit his lip and took a deep breath.

"MaiwastheotherpersonIwreckedinto." Joey said in one big breath. Yugi's eye became huge in disbelief. Perhaps any other person would look at Joey dumbfounded, but Yugi perfectly understood what Joey just said. It was just a hard concept to wrap around his head.

Before Yugi could answer, Tristan, Tea, and Duke were in his living room talking a million miles a minute. They had been away for a while, for their own reasons. The trio glanced at Joey and stopped talking.

They ran over to him, asking him a million questions he didn't need to hear at this point. He shook his head and said that he had to go see Abby and whatnot.

"See ya later Yug." Joey said before he left. Tea gave Tristan a worried look.

"What's with him?" Duke asked. Yugi just sighed.

"He was in a car wreck, but he's fine." Yugi assured them.

"I just hope that he goes home to Abby. She must be worried sick." Tea said.

"Not as worried as Joey is." Yugi responded.

"What's that about Yugi?" Tristan wondered. Yugi ignored the question, he felt they didn't need to know anything else. Yugi knew that seeing Mai again at this time in his life was hard for Joey. Joey didn't need to tell him that. He also knew that there were a lot of repressed feelings on both sides. Yugi just hoped things worked out . . . but when Mai was around . . . well things had a tendency to get a little crazy.

"So what exactly are you guys doing here at my house at one in the morning?" Yugi asked them. Tristan and Duke pushed Tea up front to explain.

"Well, there weren't any more rooms at the hotel so we needed a place to stay. I've come down to help Abby prepare for the wedding and Tristan and Duke are applying for a modeling job at the new magazine company in Domino." Tea explained. Tristan and Duke beamed.

"Yugi, we heard that this company is so rich that it's giving Kaiba a run for his money. Whoever owns this is a rich fellow." Tristan told him.

"Hopefully, if we get the job, we'll get to meet him." Duke added. Yugi tiredly encouraged them.

"That's great guys, listen I will talk to you more in the morning. You all know where everything is. Good night." Yugi said as he left them to go to sleep. They all bid him good night.

**_Normal POV- Tristan and Duke's Modeling Jobs_**

Duke and Tristan arose early, for they had a very important modeling job to get to. They quickly got ready. They wore their normal outfits, as the application said to.

Yugi quickly wished them good luck. He was going to take Tea to Joey's house and then they would all go out for ice cream. Hopefully food would cheer Joey up. It always used to.

Tristan and Duke walked around Domino for a while before arriving at the huge newly built building. They each took big gulps. It was hard to believe that this corporation dealt with modeling . . . but then again rumors have been heard of it doing something with duel monsters . . . and that was Kaiba's territory.

"Wow." Tristan said. It was all that could be said. Duke could only nod in agreement. Kaiba's company was right across the street. It looked like a mere kitten standing next to a lion.

"Whoever owns this company has surely met an enemy in Kaiba!" Duke said. Tristan laughed at this.

"Let's hope he's not as much of a loser." Tristan hoped. Duke believed this. They walked into the building and noticed how clean and high tech it was. A huge computer made up one wall. It showed pages of past issues. The two men walked up to the huge silver desk. The secretary turned to talk to them.

"Duke Devlin and Tristan Taylor here to apply for the new modeling jobs." Duke explained. The secretary nodded.

"Right this way. I'll take you there. My name is Jennifer, not Jenny. Please follow me this way and be careful not to tread anywhere else." she snapped. She saw the two men give each other confused glances.

"Sorry, it's just that the boss has been in the most terrible mood lately. I feel bad if you guys have to meet her. She just might bit your head off." Jennifer explained.

"She?" Tristan asked. Jennifer raised her eyebrow and nodded in agreement. They climbed into the clear elevator. The two men watched as the bottom floor quickly disappeared under their feet. They soon arrived at the top floor.

"Good luck." Jennifer said. Duke watched her walk away.

"Hey, if things don't work out with Serenity, she's not a bad choice Taylor." Duke joked. Tristan gave him an evil glare. They arrived into a huge photo shoot room. The room was filled with people taking pictures and modeling. It was covered with white backgrounds. Of course they kept changing to fulfill the photographer's needs. Tristan and Duke had their pictures taken several times, then they were told to sit outside the room.

They sat in two chairs in the hallway. The hallway was a mahogany wood color with a red carpet. The outsides of the carpet as well as the border of the hallway seemed to be made of gold.

"I think we did well." Tristan said.

"Yeah, I wonder what was wrong with Joey?" Duke asked. Before Tristan could answer, he heard someone scream.

"Get out of my office before I fire you. Is it that hard to file papers, honestly I don't know why I keep you around, GET OUT!" a woman screamed. It made the floor rumble. Jennifer quickly exited the room that the woman was screaming from. She walked up to Tristan and Duke.

"I said she was in a bad mood." she stated before she walked away. They gulped.

"And were sure we want to work here?" Tristan asked.

"Hey you were the one who was too chicken to apply for the job by himself . . . like I really need the extra money! I have my own gaming corporation too!" Duke said. Tristan rolled his eyes.

A man came out of the photography room and told them that their work was excellent. He called the boss to tell her that she had to inspect these two.

"Why can't you do it?'' she yelled on the other side of the phone immediately after the man called her.

"It's your job." the man whimpered.

"I don't need you telling me what to do. One more step out of line and you're gone. Send them to my office!" she ordered. The man hurriedly closed his phone. He pointed to the office at the end of the hallway. Tristan and Duke went inside, but nobody was in there. They sat in the empty chairs by the desk. They noticed that there was a door that led somewhere else. The women must have been in there. The second thing they noticed was that the main color of this room was deep purple.

"Man, I'm nervous." Duke whispered. Tristan nodded, he was afraid to speak. The door from the other side slowly opened and a woman slowly emerged. She noticed Tristan and Duke standing there and all she could do was stare.

"Mai?" Tristan and Duke both asked shocked.

"You work here?" Tristan asked.

"Can it with the nice guy routine. I own this." Mai snapped. Tristan gave Duke a worried expression.

"Uh . . . are you okay?.'' Duke asked. Mai gave him an unimpressed glare.

"You do look kind of bad Mai." Tristan remarked. It wasn't like she was ungroomed or anything . . . one could just tell. Her eyes said that she hadn't slept in a while . . . and she was standing in a nervous matter, which was never like her.

"Telling me how bad I look is not a good way to get a job Mr. Taylor." Mai said. She sat in her huge black chair facing them directly.

"I was in a car accident last night if you really must know." Mai explained. The two men just stared at her. Duke didn't know what to say . . . but he did want this job . . . why? To prove to Yugi that one can never have too much publicity.

"Does Joey know you're here?" he asked. He was hoping talking about Joey would cheer her up, but it was the wrong thing to say.

"Yeah, he's the one who wrecked into me. He was in a hurry to see his girlfriend." Mai replied madly. Sarcasm dripped off of the last word.

"Oh yeah, you didn't know about them." Tristan reminded himself aloud. Mai looked at him.

"Does it matter? Look at what I did without him. I didn't need him. I didn't need anybody. I only needed myself unlike Wheeler. He needed somebody. It sure in hell wasn't me, so I didn't need him either. Tell your friend while he's making ends meet, I'm up here sipping champaign and eating caviar. I doubt the idiot even knows what that is!" Mai yelled at them. Tristan was about to retaliate but Duke held him back.

"I know you'll tell him. You're his babysitter. Tell him I can move on too. Tell him to watch and see, I'm gonna own this city and I'm going to do it without him. I don't need him." Mai commanded.

"I can see that Joey did something to offend you, so we are just going to go." Duke said. Tristan gave him a confused look. Mai turned to face the window.

"Offend me? No, I was just being stupid. Yeah, it was all me, I thought something was there when it wasn't. Now I'm one of the richest humans alive and he's with some woman who apparently means the world to him." Mai replied. Her tone became soft and her eyes filled with tears. Duke and Tristan backed toward the door.

"Hmm . . . report to work six o'clock sharp. And listen . . . sorry that I flipped . . . lack of sleep and having your favorite car and jacket ruined does that to ya." Mai said.

"Uh . . . it's fine Mai." Duke said nodding appreciatively.

"No, it's not . . . after all we've done for her . . . she should be begging us to work for her . . . not flipping out on us!" Tristan muttered. Mai ignored it.

"Excuse me now . . . I've got to get some fresh air." Mai said as she followed the two out of her office.

"Are you sure you're fine?" Duke asked. Tristan rolled his eyes . . . and she ignored it again.

"The . . . the thing about falling is when you reach the bottom . . . you can only go up. . . but as you go up again, nobody forgets the things you did to reach the bottom . . . " Mai told them as she turned around and walked away.

Mai walked out of the building. She was no one to mess with. She was wearing a black business suit. It was an unusual dress for her. She gave up on the outfits she once wore and now she only dressed professionally. She walked down the streets of Domino alone. She finally entered an Italian restaurant and she got a secluded table outside. She was enjoying the quiet when the waiter came to her.

"I'm sorry miss, but this table is usually reserved for the Kaiba's. " the waiter said. Mai looked at him perplexed.

"Tell Mr. Kaiba that he can sit somewhere else because I'm not moving." Mai snapped. The waiter quickly left. He came back with Kaiba following him. Kaiba sat on the other side of the table.

"What are you doing?" Mai snapped.

"This is my table, so I'm sitting in it!" he said cooly.

"Fine, makes no difference to me." Mai said just as cooly. The wind was blowing through her blonde hair.

"Actually Valentine, I'm surprised to see you her alone. I thought the geek squad would be chasing you, especially the mutt." Kaiba told her. His eyes were searching for any sad emotion he could jump on. She was his new rival, and he didn't like it.

"I don't need their stupid play group." Mai quickly replied. Kaiba laughed.

"What's so funny?" Mai asked irritated.

''I just can't follow wether you want to kill them or help them. It's quite amusing watching you all bicker." Kaiba answered.

"I'm trying to stay away from them. They'll just hold me back and in order for my company to become succesful. I must fully concentrate on that. Besides, I got far on my own. I'm not changing that now." Mai replied calmly. Kaiba had to agree with her. They were alike in many ways, but she was a member of the stupid playgroup and Kaiba didn't sink that low . . . no matter how much she denied it. They were quiet for a while, but their food came and they quickly ate.

"Anyway Valentine I suggest we do this again. We need to talk business." Kaiba said, although it was more of a command.

"I suppose . . . though I don't see anything that we need to talk about . . . but then again hearing about how you keeping losing at everything might be fun." Mai said rasing an eyebrow. She glanced off into the distance and she saw three people sitting at a table. Joey and Yugi were the two she knew . . . but the other one was unfamiliar.

"What are you looking at?" Kaiba asked. He saw Yugi, Joey and his girlfriend eating lunch. Mai looked disgusted.

"Stupid mutt, why are you even looking at him?" Kaiba wondered. Mai just rolled her eyes.

"Is that his fiancee?" Mai asked. Kaiba nodded, he was getting bored with this conversation. He did have an idea that would amuse him.

"I'll give you a ride back to your building if you do something for me." Kaiba slyly offered.

"What?" Mai asked immediately. It was bitterly cold outside, and she was only using the cold air to keep her awake. Kaiba whispered something into her ears and she gave a small smile. Joey had hurt her and left her alone, so she was ready for some payback and fun. Of course . . . that seemed to be all she did anymore.

She just hurt the people she lo . . .

Mai left the table and walked over to Joey's table.

"Hey Joey, is this your girlfriend?" Mai asked him. Joey immediately jumped, he was shocked to see her.

"Yeah." he whispered. Abby stood up to shake Mai's hand.

"I'm Abby and who are you?" Abby asked sweetly. Her disposition made Mai sick, how could Joey love someone so much unlike her?

"I'm Mai, but I'm sure you've heard all about me." Mai responded. Joey was sinking even farther in his seat.

"No, I haven't." Abby replied. Mai let go of her hand.

"Joseph, I'm ashamed. I thought we were good friends, I guess I was wrong about that too." Mai said sweetly. Joey wanted to leave, but he didn't. Abby sat down.

"Mai, you should join us." Abby gestured.

"Oh, that's so sweet. I'm just waiting for someone. Oh here he is now!" Mai exclaimed. Kaiba came over to where she was standing.

'' Mai, I was looking for you. Then I'd figure you'd come over and pity the loser. Are you ready to go?" Kaiba asked her. Joey looked horror stricken.

"Yeah, it was nice seeing you again but Kaiba and I have things to do elsewhere!" Mai replied sweetly. Joey's jaw dropped and he swore inwardly.

Kaiba and Mai rode in the limo for a while in silence. It wasn't like Mai couldn't have a limo at her disposal . . . but she preferred being at the wheel . . . and sometimes she just felt like walking around. It gave her time to clear her thoughts.

"Miss Valentine, Yugi and I are having a formal duel tomorrow at noon, after I win . . . then we can have our business meeting." Kaiba decided.

"Well then Kaiba, should I wait 20 or 30 years?" Mai asked. Kaiba glared at her.

"You don't want be to be your enemy." Kaiba simply stated. Mai smirked.

"Why not, I have a list. You could be on top." Mai teased. Kaiba glared again.

"Fine. I'll watch your stupid duel." Mai agreed.

"It's not stupid. As I recall, you weren't winning any tournaments yourself." Kaiba bitterly pointed out. Mai shook her head.

"I quit dueling Mr. Kaiba. It's a stupid child's game and I refuse to take any part in it. I grew up." Mai answered.

"It's just because you can't handle it . . . besides I've heard you haven't given it up completely . . . isn't that right?" Kaiba said. Mai ignored him. They finally arrived at her building.

"Guess you'll have to find out." Mai said as she climbed out of the limo. She didn't look back as the limo drove off. She just walked into the building without any feelings at all.


	4. Do You Really Mean That?

New Chapter- Although long and not as exciting . . . some key things happen in it . . . that will lead to other important aspects of the story . . . so stay tuned and a new chapter will be up ASAP!

JxMobsessivlyDuH!- I hope that your story goes well! Well here's my newest chapter( uh don't be too mad at how things work out . . . dum dum dum)

Disclaimer: I don't own YGO . . . at all! But I do own Abby . . . but she only makes minor appearances for I'm not to into the OC character thing but it happens! Behind Those Eyes- 3 Doors Down . . . I don't own that either . . . but I can dream.

* * *

Inspiration for this chapter: 

"_There's something I can't see  
Something living in the way you smile  
Behind those eyes you lie  
And there's nothing I can say  
Cause I'm never gonna change your mind  
Behind those eyes you hide" Behind Those Eyes- 3 Doors Down_

Tristan took a deep, long, sigh. He had just finished his first official photo-shoot and happiness wasn't a word to describe his feelings. He was just waiting for Duke . . . why did the guy have to be such a perfectionist? He grumbled at the thought that Duke took an extra hour in make-up . . . for a half-hour shoot.

Obviously there are some things that Tristan doesn't understand . . . like the fact that he has to DIET! He thought he faced hard times before . . . but at least becoming a serious model will make Serenity like him . . . he hoped.

His eyes glanced from the photographers and Duke to a nearby window. A very unusual sight came to his eyes.

Mai was getting out of Kaiba's limo . . .

It didn't make sense to him as he walked down the hallway and leaned against Jenny's desk. Duke soon joined him.

"Don't think too hard . . . or you're heads gonna blow up." Duke said as he hit Tristan in the back. Tristan shook his head and sighed.

"I just saw Mai coming out of Kaiba's limo." Tristan said.

"Well that's weird." Duke noted. Tristan nodded as the two watched her walk through the door. They saw employees steer clear of her direction . . . after all, word must have gotten around about her mood lately.

"Shouldn't you two . . . be working?" Mai asked in a slightly less irritable tone than earlier. In fact one could almost mistake it for playfulness . . . _almost_.

"Waiting for the photo guys to load up. . . plus it's our break." Duke explained. She just nodded numbly.

"So is it uh cold outside?" Duke asked.

"Yeah it's freezing . . . I don't remember Domino getting this cold." Mai said. She heard Tristan mutter something about it being because she was here, but she ignored that statement too.

"So that's why you were with moneybags?" Tristan asked before he could control it. Mai only looked at him perplexed.

"What business is it of yours who I'm with?" Mai asked.

"Only that Kaiba's like our worst enemy!" Tristan exclaimed. Mai gave a forced laugh.

"How is he your enemy there Taylor . . . it's not like you do anything . . . ever." she said in a hurtful tone. Tristan glared.

"Well he's Joey's and Yugi's and that should be enough for you." he said. Mai rolled her eyes and rubbed her temples.

"Please . . . " she said in an annoyed tone.

"Well you always did know how to pick em Mai . . . you know when your not off trying to destroy the world with some guy with funky hair that tries to kill Joey . . . you're with Kaiba . . . " Tristan said as she started to walk away. She suddenly spun on her heals.

"Tristan, I've had enough of this! I'm going to fire you in the next three seconds unless you don't shut up." Mai said.

"Or you'll send me to the Shadow Realm . . . I mean that is what you did to your best friend." Tristan muttered. Mai bit her lip . . . hoping that she wouldn't start tearing up right on the spot.

''Tristan you're fired . . . and if you don't get out . . . I'm calling security." Mai said in a calm voice.

"I don't care if you fire me, I just want to know why you were with Kaiba? I mean think how much that will kill Joey if he finds out!" he yelled. Mai just stared at him.

"Tristan you just don't know when to shut up! Joey doesn't care what I do. He has somebody. He doesn't care anymore. He never cared. When Joey goes off and gets married it's not 'what will Mai say', it's congratulations. If I get a ride from Kaiba because it was freezing . . . it's 'let's play twenty questions'. Well I don't have time for 20 questions. I have a successful business to run. I do not have time to yell at you and I don't have time to think about how things could have been. It's over, you didn't want it and he didn't want it. Now, you want to bring it up every time you see me!" Mai stated. She knew her voice would start to quiver in any second.

Tristan just glared at her. He was so lost that he didn't notice the burly man from security dragging him out of the office.

"He almost died for you . . . I guess when you were off finding yourself you forgot that." Tristan told her. His expression was one of sadness and before he knew it, he was being thrown outside.

Mai took a deep breath and walked toward her office.

She shut the door gently . . . and started to file paperwork. Her main goal was to block out every emotion . . . but it wasn't working.

Duke stood there, amazed at the scene that just played before his eyes.

He bit his lip and looked toward the direction of Mai's office. Then he glanced toward the outside door where he could see Tristan standing in shock. He went outside and gave Tristan a small playful punch.

"What?" Tristan yelled agitated. Bitterness was creeping into his voice with each word.

"Are you okay?" Duke asked.

"Can you believe she did that to Joey? I mean with Kaiba!" Tristan yelled.

"Tristan, calm down. She did make some good points . . . and besides, she really didn't do anything . . . " Duke answered. Tristan glared.

"Take her side." he said sarcastically.

"No man, Joey moved on without her. Don't you think that's why she's been acting crazy. Sure Mai made have made some mistakes, but she always thought that Joey would be there. Well Tristan, he wasn't. I guess that's how she accepts it." Duke reasoned.

"Whatever, I just know Joey will flip out if he finds out." Tristan said.

"If?" Duke asked.

"I'm not telling him!" Tristan said as he backed away. Duke shrugged his shoulders, unsure of what to do . . . but it seemed that fate was going to handle it. Joey just happened to be walking around that corner. His head was down and he was muttering but it was very low . . . so low that it was too hard to make out.

"Are you all right man?" Duke asked Joey. Joey looked up from the sidewalk and shook his head. He was surprised to see them there . . . in fact he was surprised that he was there himself.

"I guess.'' he replied. He glanced over at Tristan. He seemed to be in a sour mood as well.

"Hey Joey, your little friend fired me!" Tristan yelled. Joey looked confused.

"What did she do that?" he asked. Tristan almost answered, but he didn't.

"She didn't have a reason!" Duke hurriedly explained, unsure of what to say. It didn't matter because anything he would have said would have made Mai look bad in Joey's eyes.

"Well she just can't fire people for no reason. I bet it's because you're my friend. Yeah . . . it's probably revenge for hitting her car or something. I'll just have to go talk some sense into her . . . " Joey started to say, but it ended in a mutter.

"Uh and what will you say?" Tristan asked. Joey glared at him.

"I don't even know . . . it seems like no matter what I say, it bounces off of her. " Joey explained. It all actuality it was true . . . at least in his own personal opinion. Joey took a long look at the building before starting to walk away with Tristan. Duke stayed behind, lost in his own thought.

"You know? Then I can tell you the real reason I got fired. I yelled at her for the same reason. I saw her get out of Kaiba's limo. I told her how much that would hurt ya and how stupid it was. Mai totally flipped on me! She fired me after that and everything else became a blur." Tristan explained. He thought Joey would be proud of him.

"So that's her problem, she's mad at me! Why? I mean after everything I did for her! How much more can I do? Well you know what . . . who needs her?" Joey yelled as he stomped away. Duke suddenly arrived and glared at Tristan.

"Nice going man." Duke sighed.

"What?" Tristan wondered.

"Let's see, you got Joey and Mai really angry on the same day. I'm surprised you're still alive!" Duke exclaimed.

* * *

**Later on that Night- At the Kaiba's**

Kaiba threw his laptop on his bed. He was just glad he was home. He put Mokuba to bed and now he could ease his mind. He got out his deck and looked through each card. He tried simulation after simulation, and he still couldn't beat Yugi. He just didn't get it.

'Maybe Mai was right, maybe I should quit.' Kaiba wondered. He almost hit himself for that thought. Every once in a while doubt sinks into the CEO's mind, but he ignores it. He had been acting somewhat out of character lately. He didn't know why he gave Mai a ride. He figured it was just to make the mutt mad. He glanced over at his phone.

'I wonder if she's still working.' he thought. If she was still working, then he should be too. Somehow they became rival business owners. He always had to be on top, and Kaiba wouldn't accept failure. He got up and walked around his huge mansion. He saw Mokuba sleeping and smiled. Everybody thought he was heartless, but he wasn't. Mokuba was the only person he really had.

Kaiba went back into his room and went back to sleep. He would win tomorrow. He had too.

* * *

**Day of the Duel**

Mai dotted her I. She glanced at the paper and smiled . . . things were sort of looking up. If this deal goes through than she really will be more powerful than Kaiba.

After all . . . it's all about power right?

Mai gave a small chuckle and glanced at her watch. It was almost time for her to go. She sighed and wished that she had at least slept three hours instead of two. She was awake half the night . . . working on this deal . . . and thinking about what Tristan said.

She could hear each word clearly in her mind, and earlier she threw a wine glass against the wall hoping it would stop.

It didn't.

Mai shook her head . . . trying to clear her thoughts.

She moved on, what the playgroup said didn't matter to her anymore . . .

Right?

Mai walked out of her office and briefly told Jenny to tell any callers she would be back soon.

"And if somebody calls me about a business deal . . . make sure they reach me on my cell-phone. I'll be observing a duel this afternoon so it won't be any trouble for me to talk." Mai told her and she nodded.

She almost made it out the main doorway but Duke stopped her.

"Mai . . . we need to talk." he said.

"Well that's not something a woman who writes your paycheck likes to hear . . . you have five minutes." she said in a bored voice. Duke looked at her, stunned for a moment.

"I don't think you should have fired Tristan." he said. Mai rolled her eyes.

"I had a perfect reason. I don't need to tell you what it is. Would you like to join him Mr. Devlin?" Mai asked.

"No, I'm just saying that Joey was mad when he found out." Duke answered. Mai turned around and rubbed her temples.

"Honestly, I don't care what Joey said or what Joey does or what Joey thinks. I just want to be left alone. I mean you guys left me alone before. Why can't you do it now?" Mai said.

"Because we're your friends . . . wether you accept it or not.'' Duke stated. Mai raised her eyebrow and shrugged.

She hurriedly left . . . and now she was going to be late.

She arrived at the Kaiba mansion a short time after. She had muttered to herself the whole way there about them being such great friends. It was all in sarcasm of course.

Mai didn't need anybody.

And for a second . . . she stopped.

That way of thinking . . . it seemed all too familiar. She just drowned out Mokuba's voice telling her all about the duel. She handed the valet her keys without thinking.

Was she reverting to her previous ways?

"Mai . . . and did you even listen to me?" Mokuba said as he led her to a huge dueling room.

"What?" Mai asked . . . but her question was soon forgotten as she took in the huge view of the room. Bleachers were in a huge circle above the dueling-arena. Everything was silver and blue with huge big screen tv's arranged in different spots around the room.

But that wasn't the reason a feeling of excitement rose through her. She walked onto the dueling arena . . . it was concrete and of the non-rising variety . . . but she became fond of the ground after Battle City . . .

Mai shook her head to stop the thoughts that she knew were coming.

"I guess you can read a watch . . . right on time." Kaiba said as he strode through the room over to her and Mokuba. She suddenly became alert.

"Yeah . . . don't you think you went a little overboard with the whole dueling thing . . . it's just a game." Mai said in a voice that made her sound like she was talking to a child.

"A game that you could never win." Kaiba spat out coldly. Mai just rolled her eyes.

"Shouldn't you be getting ready to make your big entrance?" Mai asked.

"My entrances are never planned." Kaiba stated in a bored why am I telling you this tone.

"Uh right . . . " Mai agreed sarcastically. Kaiba scowled and walked away. Mokuba led Mai up to the stadium-type bleachers and waited for the game to start.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw a certain group of people coming her way. She frowned and rolled her eyes.

"Mai! I didn't know you'd be here!" Tea shouted as she sat in the seat behind her.

''Course she'd be here . . . after all they are like best friends." Tristan replied. Mai just bit her lip and ignored him.

"Isn't that right Joey. . . they hang out all the time." Tristan kept saying.

"Tristan when are you going to grow up?" Mai asked, tension rolling off of her in waves. Joey sat in the back speechless. . . which was a first for him.

Abby was also there, looking bored. . .and Duke just looked confused.

"Hi guys!'' Mokuba said, waving happily. . . clueless to the tension.

"So uh Mai. . . what have you been up too?" Tea asked, trying to make conversation.

"Why don't you ask Kaiba. . .you know since were like best friends and stuff!" Mai answered in a fake valley-girl sort of voice.

"And I'm the one who needs to grow up?" Tristan asked.

"Shut up guys, it's starting!" Mokuba stated.

Kaiba strode in emotionless and Yugi came in with a slight smile on his face.

"Where's his necklace?" Mai asked. Nobody answered her and she figured she would have to find out herself.

"I will regain my title Yugi. I will defeat you." Kaiba yelled at Yugi, cutting into her thoughts. Yugi just shook his head.

"Life isn't always about titles Kaiba!" Yugi yelled back.

"Then why are you here?" Kaiba asked. Yugi laughed at this.

"I'm here because I'm a true duelist. I never run away from a challenge. With my friends behind me, I can't fail!" Yugi announced.

"You'll get him Yug!" Joey encouraged.

"Go Yugi!" Tea shouted. Kaiba gave them looks of disgust.

"Let's duel!" the duelists announced.

"Mai, have you seen them duel before?" Mokuba asked her. Mai thought for a while, and she realized that she never had seen Yugi and Kaiba duel.

"No, I haven't." she answered. Mokuba gasped.

"Your in for a treat! My brother is the best duelist around and when he battles Yugi, he gives it his all!" Mokuba told her. Mai just nodded.

Tea and the others were talking in the background. . . giving play by play action. Tea had a feeling that Mai was ignoring them, but she didn't want to say it out loud.

Mai was actually enjoying the duel. It had been a long time since she watched one. . . and even longer since she dueled. It seemed like a part of her life that she hadn't witnessed for a long time. . . despite the people sitting behind her.

At this point Kaiba just laid down a Blue Eyes White Dragon.

"Oh. . .you can do it Yug!" Joey yelled.

"It seems pretty hopeless." Mai said with a sigh. Tristan just rolled his eyes.

"Why do you say that?" Duke asked.

"Well because they are tied for life-points and Kaiba has two dragons on the field. . . and Yugi doesn't have anything except that face down card. He has to have a lot of faith in that one card." Mai explained.

"Knowing Yugi, it'll be something that will blow Kaiba away." Tristan stated.

"I don't know. . . he just doesn't seem into it. . . it seems like he doesn't want to be here. I think it's because he doesn't have that little necklace thing." Mai told them.

"No. . . that's just you." Tristan said.

They continued to watch the duel in silence.

"So Mai what do you think of the duel?" Tea asked after some time had passed. Mai shrugged.

"Gave my opinion. . . nobody wanted to hear it." she replied smugly. Tea sat back and gave a harnessed sigh, out of annoyance really. There she was. . . just trying to make conversation. . . but even that backfired.

"Did you see how she shot Tea down like that?" Tristan whispered to Joey.

"She was right. . . nobody wants to hear her opinion." Joey replied in a voice loud enough for her to hear.

"If you have a problem with me Tristan. . . then talk to me!" Mai said in a stern voice.

"Last time I did that, you fired me." he replied. Mai shrugged and gave him a look like she could care less.

"Tristan, calm down." Tea warned.

"No, Mai needs to know how stupid she's being." Joey added.

"Stupid? Don't even start with me Joey!" she yelled.

"Why, are you afraid of the truth Mai?" Joey yelled to her.

"No, I don't care about what you have to say!" Mai screamed.

''Good, I don't want you to care about what I have to say!" Joey screamed back. Kaiba laughed at this. Yugi glared at him as he played yet another Blue Eyes White Dragon.

"Yugi, I don't even know why you talk to idiots like that!" Kaiba remarked. Joey looked angry for a moment.

"Shut up moneybags!" Joey yelled at him.

"Kaiba didn't say anything!" Mai shouted.

"He called me an idiot!" Joey whined.

"Now who's afraid of the truth?" Mai asked him. She was smirking and Joey was full of rage.

"Whatever Mai. You can't just fire people just because they are my friends." Joey told her.

"I had a reason to fire Tristan. It wasn't because of you Joey. My world doesn't revolve around you!" Mai snapped. Joey just sighed. Yugi was having a hard time dueling with them yelling. In fact, he hadn't dueled this bad in ages. . . years even.

"Some friends, are they ruining your concentration?" Kaiba asked. He was smirking the whole time.

"No, I will defeat you even with them fighting! But wait, this. . . this was your plan! You wanted them to fight so my concentration would be ruined!" Yugi shouted as he looked up at his friends. Joey felt guilt rush to his face, but Kaiba smugly smiled. So what if that was his little plan. . .maybe Mai was right. Maybe he did plan mostly everything he did. . .this time it would pay off.

"Sorry Yug, If Mai wasn't being such a witch then I wouldn't have a problem." Joey apologized.

"Was that an insult Wheeler? It was quite pitiful."Mai stated.

"Ya know what Mai, you changed. You're a loudmouth who doesn't care about anybody. It's no wonder your alone!" Joey yelled back. He quickly slapped his hands over his mouth.

"I'm better off alone. If I would of waited for you any longer, I wouldn't own my own business. I wouldn't own all the crap that I do and I wouldn't be a millionaire!" Mai replied, full of rage. She was just upset that none of these people could leave her alone. . . and although his words stung, she had nothing else to come back with. Joey was confused by what she said.

"Mai I thought we taught you that money wasn't everything. I thought that we taught you about friendship." Joey said. Mai sighed and rubbed her head. . . she was becoming so sick of the friendship speech. . .

"Friendship? Yeah right. I didn't need friendship to make it where I am today." Mai snapped back.

"So our friendship meant nothing to you?" Joey asked.

"What friendship?" Mai asked. Joey glared.

"After all the crap I've done for you, you go and say we were never friends!" Joey screamed.

"Mai...I wish you didn't make me hate you so much. There I said it. The way your acting is driving me crazy. I hate you Mai, I really do!" Joey screamed. The room became silent. Kaiba stopped insulting Yugi. Yugi stopped talking about the heart of the cards. Mai thought the room was spinning, but it wasn't. She was usually prepared for things, but she wasn't expecting this. She was used to being hated, but hearing the words come out of Joeys mouth stung her. They hit her very hard. The room remained silent for some time.

She looked angry for a moment. . . and Joey thought he would be dead very soon. She just stood there, speechless. Did he really just say that?

"Good. . . I'm glad. . . because I hate you more." she replied bitterly before she flipped her hair back and walked out the door.

"I didn't mean it." Joey called back to her, but she was already gone.

"I think she did." Tristan noted with a heavy sigh. The group turned toward Yugi again. It appeared that Kaiba had left, bitter that Yugi beat him once again.

"Uh good job Yugi." Mokuba said before rushing off after his brother.

Abby stirred from her slumber. She never understood dueling, and it bored her actually.

"What did I miss?" she asked. The group only glared.


	5. It's Just Business

Hey all! Well this is the next chapter so have fun. . .

**Cymoril Avalon**- It has been a long time. I love when you review my stories because you always give me advice that I could use. About Mai's Mustang. . . I could not think of any cars. . . I blanked out seriously on cars, but she probably would have something more. . . glamorous maybe? Where can I get a beta, I could really use one. . . I'm such a horrible proofreader, I always miss stuff. . . so a beta would be great! Honestly I think you'll like some of the surprises I have planned on with my story. . .but THANKS so much for reviewing!

**Disclaimer**: YGO is not mine.

* * *

Rain was now drizzling all over the city. Mai was watching it from her office. She had been in there ever since she got back. She couldn't get Joey's voice out of her head.

"Why do I care?" she asked herself. Not like it would be a surprise . . . after everything that happened between them.

"No. . . I'm beyond the past now . . . I'm beyond him." she whispered as she closed the blinds. There would be no more brooding and looking out the window to a desperate city.

"Miss Valentine . . . your 2:00 is here." Jenny said over the intercom.

"I had a 2:00 . . . I didn't arrange one." Mai wondered.

"He did . . . may I send him in?" she asked. Mai sighed. She knew she never gave her consent to an appointment today. In fact she had cleared her whole schedule . . . well except for one thing, but that wasn't until later.

"I suppose." Mai replied with an annoyed sigh. She couldn't keep whoever it was waiting could she?

Mai sat in her chair and looked at the papers on her desk. She placed them in her desk and when she looked up she saw nobody else but the one and only Kaiba standing in front of her.

"You're my 2:00?" Mai asked with laughter coming out of her voice.

"You should always know your appointments." Kaiba replied coldly. Mai suddenly switched to business mode . . . two could play at this game.

''I believe that we have some business to discuss." Kaiba said. Mai was shocked by his voice, but she regained her composure.

"What business is that?" Mai asked.

"Well, we had an important business meal planned after the duel and you walked out on me." Kaiba pointed out.

"You said after you beat Yugi. You didn't beat Yugi." Mai replied. Kaiba smirked at this.

"Perhaps you need more credit than what your given. I noticed that for someone who doesn't need friends, you seem awfully upset about Wheeler." Kaiba said.

"What business is that of yours?" Mai asked.

"Hmm, to succeed in this world, you need to be alone. You need to survive on your own. Prove to me that you can do that, and I won't crush you." Kaiba commanded.

"Oh however will I live with myself?" Mai asked sarcastically. This just got a cold glare from Kaiba.

"Regardless of your little quips . . . you owe me a meal . . . and a meeting." he said as if he was bored.

"No, I don't." Mai replied. Kaiba raised an eyebrow.

"Fine sit here and wait for Wheeler to tell you that he doesn't hate you . . . we both know he won't. If you wisen up, I might be around." he said with a huge smirk on his face, knowing that somewhere deep down . . . he struck Mai hard.

She watched him get up without even glanced at her. She leaned back in her chair, and wondered what on earth his game was.

"I'll come with you." she said coldly as she grabbed her purse and followed him out of the office, locking the door behind her.

She went to leave, but Jenny called her from the front desk.

"There is an important business call on line one for you Miss Valentine." Jenny said. Mai looked at her confused.

"Take a message . . . isn't that what I pay you for?" Mai asked. Jenny shrugged.

"But it's that call you've been waiting for." Jenny replied. Mai gave a quick glance at Kaiba.

"I will call them back as soon as I can." Mai instructed and she walked out into the pouring rain.

They got out of the limo and walked into the French restaurant. A table had already been reserved.

"Did you plan this?" Mai asked.

"I'm Seto Kaiba. I can get whatever I want whenever I want it. People fear me, and from what I know people aren't too fond of you either." Kaiba said. Mai rolled her eyes. She looked around and noticed that the restaurant was decorated in maroon and gold colors. The floor was gold and marble.

''This has to be the tackiest place I've ever been in." Mai stated.

"I'm sure this is the best place you've ever been in." Kaiba replied. Mai ignored his statement. They both ordered their food. Mai was becoming bored by this time.

"Where's Mokuba?" Mai asked. Kaiba gave her a strange look.

"He's with Yugi. I don't know why, but Mokuba likes him. What business of it is yours?" Kaiba replied.

"He's usually following you around like a puppy dog." Mai answered. They became silent again for some time.

"He even talks like Yugi. I hate it when he starts talking about ancient Egyptian magic. In fact he talks about the weirdest things." Kaiba said.

"At least he isn't talking about friendship every five minutes." Mai said.

"Yeah, but he does seem to talk about it more. I blame Gardner." Kaiba stated. Mai laughed at this.

"Yeah he probably gets about 50 friendship speeches a day. I always hated those." Mai said.

"I think everyone hates them, well except for their little play group." Kaiba added.

"At least Mokuba seems smart. You would think that after hanging out with them, he would become stupider. I mean Wheeler has no brain at all, and I think it grows on other people. Then you have Yugi and his constant speeches about destiny." Mai said. Kaiba nodded.

"They all need to grow up and realize that friendship isn't everything." Kaiba said.

"Yeah, but it always seems to work for them. I mean every time one of them are in trouble, they always get each other out of it. Of course if you're just an acquaintance then they don't care when they lie to you. Whatever works I guess." Mai said.

"I never needed them, but they always seem to butt in." Kaiba stated.

"I know, it's like when you want to be left alone, there they all. I'm just glad I never have to talk to any of them again." Mai said.

"Why is that? You can't quit being a member of their playgroup." Kaiba replied cooly.

"Sure I can. After all Joey hates me, and Tristan has hated me for some time. Tea is mad at me for just being me. Actually, I don't have any problems with Yugi. I was never a part of their playgroup anyway. It was just that we kept bumping into each other." Mai explained. Deep down, in the darkest corners of her heart, she firmly believed this . . . and the fact that she could sit in such a casual setting and openly admit to it, somewhat bothered her.

"Enough talking . . . let's get down to business." Kaiba said, setting his laptop on the table.

"Fine . . . " Mai said, shrugging her shoulders and sitting back in her seat.

"I know that you're planning to release a new invention to perfect duel monsters.'' Kaiba said in an outright tone. He leaned forward and crossed his arms in a very matter-of-fact pose.

"Do you now?" Mai asked. He gave her a stubborn stare.

"Well between you and me . . . I'm not. But now I'm curious . . . what would you do if I did?" she asked, leaning her head to the side and giving a small smile. Kaiba gave the smallest squirm underneath her glaze.

"I'd have to eliminate you." he instructed as the food arrived. Mai gave a small laugh as she sipped from her glass of wine.

"Or what if the roles switched?" Mai asked.

"Then you'd be dreaming . . . but I assure you that it would quickly turn into a nightmare." Kaiba answered curtly. Mai shrugged and replaced her smile with a smirk.

They ate quietly for a moment before Kaiba's phone rang. Mai watched intently as he quickly ignored the call.

"Valentine . . . this playing hardball . . . it won't work out well for you. You'll just get yourself hurt." Kaiba explained.

"Thanks for caring." Mai replied sarcastically, just like she had been through the whole evening.

"You know that once you go so far. . . nobody will be able to pull you back this time. Want to know why? Because there is no one this time." Kaiba said. Mai just stared at him.

"What is it that you know Mr. Kaiba?" she asked, her voice quite calm.

"I know you're planning something against me . . . but I'm not too sure of the details . . . but honestly I don't see a threat." Kaiba said.

"You're right . . . I am planning something . . . but who and what it's against or for . . . well you don't get to find out until showtime." Mai replied.

"Let the show begin." Kaiba said . . . eager to see what she could pull off.

"Maybe it has." Mai whispered to him as she excused herself from the table and walked outside into the brisk air, leaving Kaiba to ponder her words at the table by himself.

Kaiba glanced down on his phone. The last call was one of his main employers, James.

Kaiba quickly dialed the number.

"Did you do it?" James asked. Kaiba sighed, he was the one in charge . . .

"No. . . I don't think Wheeler is her weakness any longer." Kaiba answered.

"Are you sure?" James asked.

"Positive." Kaiba answered as he hung up. Little did he know, James was smiling halfway across town.

Mai glanced at the cell phone in her hands. She ran her finger over each of the numbers lightly, scenarios running through her mind. Could she do it? Could she really go through with what she was planning?

She glanced at the pop-up that announced that she had one missed call. Of course she knew who it was already . . .

She stared at it for a moment, letting a few questions go through her head before she ignored them . . . like she had been ignoring everything.

She let the doubts pour out of her, just like the rain. With a half smile she started to dial the number, but somebody called her name.

Looking up curiously Mai saw one person who she didn't expect . . . Serenity.

Mai gave her a small smile and took a huge breath. She had no idea where she stood with Serenity . . . in fact she had no idea what Serenity knew.

"Mai! I haven't seen you since Battle City!" Serenity gasped as she ran across the street to embrace Mai. Mai quickly let go of her and watched her curiously.

"It's funny seeing you here . . . my school isn't very far from here. I just finished it actually . . . for today. It went so slow, but now I've got to go to Yugi's. In fact I'm an exchange student here, isn't that funny? But it was a good excuse for me to come over here." Serenity explained. Mai glanced at her confused.

"So what have you been up to Mai?" Serenity asked, her voice eager too here the answer.

"What? Oh uh . . . ya know. . . running my own company and um I've been around." Mai replied.

"You sound kind of detached . . . are you okay?" Serenity asked concerned as she stared at Mai.

"Couldn't be better." Mai muttered as she kicked a rock and watched it roll down the sidewalk.

"So. . .it's a good thing that this place has a overlap roofy thing . . . or otherwise we'd be getting soaked." Serenity said. Mai just smiled at her innocence.

"But um . . . so have you been in town long?" she asked. Mai shook her head no.

"Oh . . . well then I'll have to tell Joey that I ran into you." Serenity said. Mai's eyes opened wide.

"Um . . . let's not. Yeah . . . don't bother. It's not important or anything." Mai replied very nonchalantly. Serenity stomped her foot in disapproval.

"But . . . they told me that they've run into you and that you were gonna go to America or something." she said sourly.

"Oh . . . but I've seen them and stuff already . . . so they know . . . and there's no reason to be telling them." Mai explained, her temper cutting short.

Serenity looked at her for a moment before conceding. Suddenly she saw Kaiba walk out of the restaurant.

"Oh look it's Valentine and the mutt's sister.'' he said quite agitated.

"The name's Serenity." she replied in a bored tone . . . as if was usual for him to call her that. He shrugged, not really caring.

After all . . . he didn't.

"That wasn't a very funny stunt you pulled Valentine." Kaiba said, ignoring Serenity altogether.

"I had a good laugh." she replied, clenching on her phone.

"I don't know what game you're playing, but I will find out . . . and when I do . . . you'll lose." Kaiba replied bitterly. Mai shrugged.

"I don't think you will." she replied as she pushed off against the wall and started walking away in the rain. Kaiba watched her walk away and frowned.

"Always making me chase after her." he muttered in a low voice. He then started to walk after her, leaving Serenity alone and confused.

Mai doesn't know why she agreed to that limo ride with Kaiba. Maybe it was because the rain was cold and that it left a numb feeling to her skin. Who knows . . . she doesn't.

But the point is that she did.

The ride was quiet, but full of tension. They just stared at each other, perhaps sizing up the competition.

Mai got out of the limo as she arrived at her building, just a quietly as she got in.

Kaiba didn't even know why he offered her a ride. He threw his briefcase across his bed in frustration.

He didn't like her . . . she was competition.

She was everything about a woman that he hated . . . she was treacherous . . . a traitor . . .

She was the affection of the mutt . . . and there was no way that he could EVER bring himself down that low.

No matter what . . . no matter how powerful or rich or beautiful . . . never that low.

Besides she was planning against him . . . planning to bring him down . . . much more than Yugi ever had. He could easily read it in her eyes . . . the hunger for power, the need for it . . . the rage . . .

And she was winning.

He bit his lip and threw his briefcase again. It hit the lamp against his bedside table and it shattered into many pieces on the floor. He quietly swore.


	6. No Going Back Forgotten Truce

Hey, look it's a new chapter! Ok. . . lots of things to say to people, so here it goes: (Oh I'm also looking for a BETA. . . I don't know how that whole BETA thing works but um. . . if someone out there knows. . . that would be great if they told me! lol)

MissDomaYuset: I will try to be nicer to Seto, I really do like him . . . but he always seemed power hungry to me . . . so that is how I portray him, but you'll see some of his softer side some other time (hint hint)

Growing Pains: Wow, thanks. I try so hard to keep the characters in character! I also try to add some humor! I also have to add that your musings are somewhat accurate, but I can't give anymore away! (Oh I hung my gold star in my room, lol)

SusArackAhack: I'm not a car person, and a BMW would have been great. . . maybe I'll work it in somewhere, too bad I didn't have it at the beginning though.

Mirage: Look a new chapter since your all eager!

Bunbunlover: All of your reviews were great, I'm glad you were on a roll! I was really happy to read them!

5animefan: Thanks a lot.

Melamory: Thanks, now you don't have to wait for a new chapter.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed, it was awesome to hear everyone's input! And hey if you're checking out my story and don't want to review. . . thanks for checking it out! Hope this chapter is good, I liked although it's mostly talking, but whatever. Review or not. . . it's up to you. SO it took me a little longer for this chapter because I had to figure out a way . . . well you'll see . . . enough babbling . . . here you go:

**Disclaimer:** YGO is and will never be mine.

Upon entering her building, Mai quickly ran up to her office. She grabbed the phone just in time. Somehow it started to ring as soon as she entered the building and she didn't know why.

"Mai Valentine speaking." Mai answered.

"Oh good it's you . . . this is James. I found out that stuff that you wanted." he said. Mai smiled and said she would be at his house as soon as she could.

Within the next few minutes, she was driving down the road 90 mph. Luckily nobody else seemed to be around, but then again who is at midnight?

She turned into the driveway and practically ran toward the door. The house which she found herself in was old and falling apart. It seemed that the porch would cave in within any second and the white paint had peeled off into ugly, gray siding.

The living room was cluttered with newspapers and pizza boxes. It was a funny place for Kaiba's top executive to be living.

"Do you have it ready?" Mai asked quickly. The less she was in there, the better.

"Here you go Mai." James replied as he handed over the brown envelope. Mai let a small smile cross her face.

"Thanks James." she replied briskly as she turned to walk out the door.

"Wait. . . Mai . . . did you call him yet?" James asked. Mai let her hand drop from the doorknob.

"No, but I'll get there." she said sincerely. James raised his eyebrow and ran his hand through his messy black hair. He was somewhat tan and stocky in fact. In this house he looked like a total slob, but at work . . . he looked like another businessman.

Mai shook her head and stopped staring.

"Are you sure you can do this?" he asked, his voice full of doubt.

"You don't know the real me James . . . I can do anything I want." she said curtly as she walked away. Her smile slowly faded.

* * *

It seemed like another day, well the weather did anyway. Rain drizzled all over the city and clouds covered the sun. The sky seemed to be covered in a bleak darkness that seemed almost hopeless.

Mai leaned back into her chair and spun it around a few times.

She had been in that same position all night.

In fact, after her late night visit to James's house, she went right back to the office. She placed the envelope on the table and had been staring at it ever since.

In that one envelope . . . well the information in it . . . it could give her what she needs. That envelope contains all the secrets she needs to take down the one person who could stop her from having ultimate power of the city.

If he wasn't here . . . if she was in his seat . . . the city would be hers. In a roundabout way, almost everyone would work for her. Nobody would be able to stop her . . .

Mai bit her lip and took a deep breath. It seemed like too big of a dream for the answers to be in the envelope.

His life was in this envelope.

All she had to do was open it.

Yet this seemed like the one thing she couldn't do. It was such a simple task. All she had to do was peel back the flap and Domino could be hers.

Kaiba's life was in this envelope.

"Miss Valentine, the student for the internship is here to see you." Jenny announced on the intercom, temporarily tearing Mai away from her thoughts. In fact, work was the perfect distraction.

She took a heavy sigh and placed the envelope in her desk and locked it.

She sat upright as the doors to her office opened, revealing a small girl with long auburn hair. Mai smiled, a true genuine smile.

"Serenity." she greeted. Serenity smiled and waved.

"Mai, I didn't know you were in charge here!" Serenity said with a smile. Mai just shook her head and watched as Serenity took a seat in the chair across from her.

"Well I'm glad you made it through all of the tests." Mai said. Although Mai was head of the corporation, the internship was something she forgot about.

She was to busy letting her feelings get in her way.

"Yeah, but I don't know how well I'll do in the fashion world . . . at least Duke's working here though, I'm sure he'll help me." Serenity babbled.

"Huh . . . oh right Duke . . . he's downstairs. In fact that's where you should go right now. He'll give you a good tour of the building. I'd love to but I have some things I need to go through." Mai explained in a tired voice.

Serenity happily nodded and walked out the door.

Mai looked at the locked drawer. She needed to clear her head . . . get away from the problem for a while.

On the bright side, the rain had subsided even though it still seemed miserable outside.

Mai quickly gave Jenny some instructions and left the building. She was now glaring at her cell phone. All she had to do was make that one call . . . to him.

She couldn't do that either.

She laughed bitterly. She had become so weak all of a sudden, and weakness was something that she hated.

She knew it was something Kaiba hated too.

Mai sighed and continued her walk through town, enjoying the sudden weather change.

Yet for some reason she kept turning her head with every other step. She didn't know, but she had a suspicious feeling like someone was following her.

"Just me going crazy." she whispered to herself as she walked faster . . . right into someone much shorter than her.

"Oh, I didn't mean to walk into you . . . Yugi?" she stated. He got up off of the ground and gave a half smile.

"It's fine. You just didn't see me." Yugi answered. Mai nodded and looked behind herself again.

"Are you okay?" Yugi asked.

"Mmm . . . I'm good." Mai said awkwardly as she kicked the ground. She frowned as she noticed that she scuffed her new shoes at some point in time throughout the day.

"I haven't seen you since the other day." Yugi said, hopefully filling up the silence that seemed to be engulfing the whole city.

"Well you know, I'm not exactly popular in your little circle." Mai replied in a very bored tone. Yugi lowered his eyebrows and opened his eyes up a little wider in disbelief.

"Nobody hates you Mai." he replied quite seriously.

"Yugi, we're not in kindergarten anymore. It's time to grow up and look at the truth." was her cold response. Yugi just sighed and ran a hand through his hair in frustration. He remembered a saying about how everyone can't be saved, that some people are just doomed. He didn't know why the saying popped in his head all of a sudden, but it did.

"Sure, they're mad at you, but it won't last. Life isn't black and white as you think it is." Yugi answered.

"Usually it's really gray." Mai whispered as she glanced toward the sky in a disapproving manner.

"Mai . . . I don't know what else we can do for you, but if you need anything, you can call me." Yugi said, ignoring the voices in his head.

"I. . .don't think I will . . . actually." she replied. Yugi was taken aback slightly but put forth a fake smile.

"That's fine." he said quietly as he walked away dejectedly.

"But if I do . . . I will . . . but only if." she called back to him. She didn't know why. Deep inside she felt her weakness pouring out of her, but she kept it bottled up inside.

After her walk, she went back to her office just as Duke and Serenity were at the main lobby.

"Oh . . . are you down with your tour?" Mai asked. Serenity eagerly nodded.

"Wow Mai, this is so amazing . . . this company you built, all on your own. I always wanted to be just like you." Serenity said in a delighted voice. Duke gave Mai a short cold stare while she forced a smile.

"Well Serenity . . . why don't you try being you?" Mai asked her. Serenity laughed.

"Listen . . . I've gotta go." Duke said in a harsh tone and Mai nodded. He was probably mad about how Serenity wanted to be like Mai. In fact, he was probably harnessing his own harsh feelings toward her. Mai knew that Duke was the only one, besides Yugi, who would even come close to being on her side. Yet the past was something she couldn't easily escape from, and she knew he was thinking of everything that she did to all of them. Mai let it go and gave him the rest of the day off.

"So. . . are you going to Joey's wedding?" Serenity asked.

"What?" Mai asked, barely controlling the quiver in her voice.

"His wedding . . . they sent out invitations." Serenity replied confused.

"Oh . . . I'm busy on that day." Mai lied. She blankly walked away, leaving Serenity alone.

Mai knew Joey was getting married, but she didn't know when . . .

''He really does hate me." she whispered as she pushed the doors open to her office.

"Even I told you that." Kaiba said as he turned around on her chair. Mai looked up at him and frowned.

"But . . . I thought it didn't matter?" Kaiba asked as he placed his elbows on her desk and smirked.

"Get out of my chair." she commanded. Kaiba laughed and raised his eyebrows.

"Excuse me?" he asked.

"You heard me . . . get out of my chair." she said as cold as she could. If Kaiba was any regular person, he would have goose bumps running up and down his spine and he would have been frozen to the spot after she said that. He wasn't.

He moved and made a waving motion toward her chair.

"Why are you here?" she asked with a sigh.

"To give you a warning." he said, leaning back in his chair.

"So warn me." she snapped.

"I'm telling you . . . giving you one more chance to back out." he said, as he played with her nameplate which was placed on her desk. It was gold with her name carved into it . . . and it was also cold to the touch. It was so similar to the woman she had become.

"Thanks . . . but that has to be a good two minutes of my life I'll never get back." she said in a laughing tone.

"Or two minutes you won't get to pout about Wheeler." he answered.

"I wasn't pouting . . . " she said in a quiet tone, " And your excuses to see me are ridiculous." she added quickly.

Kaiba sat speechless for a moment.

"I don't make excuses." he said coldly.

"You came, you warned . . . now leave." Mai said as she started to sort though some papers.

"You are really different from other women . . . no wonder Wheeler liked you . . . always putting him down probably . . . " Kaiba rambled.

"Doesn't it suck when you wake up in the morning and realize there is one person who doesn't worship the ground you walk on?" Mai asked. Kaiba shrugged.

"I wasn't the one looking for world denomination oh mighty one.'' was his response.

"You went pretty far last time . . . didn't you? But then you had Joey to pull you out . . . what happens now that you have no one?" Kaiba asked, annunciating every other word.

"I eliminate you." Mai replied in a regular voice, as if she was having a normal conversation.

"I'd like to see you try . . . after all you do have all those weakness . . . such as Wheeler." Kaiba stated. Mai glanced up from her desk.

"I don't have any weaknesses." she said, trying to sound convincing.

"Follow me." he said. Mai bit her lip, but hesitantly picked up her purse and walked out of her office.

Upon entering the lobby, she saw Serenity talking to Jenny.

"Oh . . . Mai! Listen . . . sorry you can't make to Joey's wedding . . . I'll have to tell them you're busy." Serenity exclaimed.

"No. . . they uh don't need to know." Mai covered. She could see Kaiba smirk out of the corner of her eye, but payed no attention to it.

"So are you busy, because I was wondering if we could hang out later . . . " Serenity said. Mai glanced at Kaiba and rolled her eyes.

"I'm not sure . . . I have a lot to do actually." she said and Serenity frowned, but nodded in a understanding matter.

"Well then, um see you later Mai." Serenity responded with a wave as she walked toward the exit.

"Huh, she has perfect timing." Kaiba noticed. Mai glared at him.

"I'm beginning to really hate you . . . not just a loathing or an occasional hate . . . but a hate so deep that I can't put it into words . . . there are you happy now?" Mai replied with a harsh tone, but Kaiba didn't answer.

"Please, you hated me before . . . after all, you were one of them." he said as they walked into his limo. Mai rolled his eyes.

"I didn't know you . . . you just can't hate people you don't know." was her response, but it was barely audible. Kaiba stood speechless for a moment, then decided to ignore her statement. What did it matter to him if she hated him? She was the enemy right?

"You know . . . if you hated me so much then you wouldn't be here . . . after all I don't usually socialize with people I hate." Kaiba explained to Mai as she sat across from him. She gave a bitter lip and shrugged her shoulders.

"Then why do you always talk to Yugi . . . I don't think you hate him . . . I think you like Yugi." she teased.

"I'm not sure . . . I don't like him . . . but it's hard to hate him . . . I tried . . . besides Mokuba likes him." Kaiba muttered.

"But I hate the rest." he added.

"Where are you taking me?" Mai asked.

"Well . . . honestly I was going to show you something . . . but your little copout was enough to entertain me." he said smugly.

"I'm glad you're satisfied." she muttered.

The rest of the ride was filled with awkward silence, something that Mai was used to. Not that she cared for it, but it was better than Kaiba's voice interrupting her thoughts. It's not like she could clear them up anyhow.

The limo stopped in front of a small building. It was surrounded by other huge buildings, but something was different about it. It was made of brick with moss growing on the side.

"I didn't think buildings like this existed anymore." Mai said as they got out of the limo. It turned out to be a quaint little French restaurant.

"This is what you wanted to show me?" Mai asked. She was very skeptical at this point, but she knew that Kaiba wasn't the average guy. So the fact that he brought her to some restaurant hidden within the skyscrapers of the city didn't surprise her.

"No. . . but you ruined what I wanted to show you . . . since you hate me already. It took the fun out of getting you to that hatred point." he said out of boredom. Mai shrugged.

"Guess I should have said so earlier." she noted.

It seemed that they had reached some sort of unsaid agreement. It was if they could get along, while being fierce competitors. Of course, neither knew how long it would last, but as of right now it was fine. It was actually a nice feeling to have somebody else to talk too . . . after being alone for so long.

Not that either of them would ever say it . . . no. . . . they were too prideful for that. In fact most of the conversation was bickering over the most random things . . . but it was still a conversation. Besides most of it was in fun . . . it wasn't even hatred, even though she teased Kaiba about hating him. She tried too hard not to let hatred take over her anyway.

A while ago . . . Mai swore to herself that she would never consume herself with power again. The moment she was feeling that hatred rise up into her again, she was scared. She knew she couldn't go absolutely crazy like last time.

It's probably the real reason she couldn't open up that envelope . . . the one with everything she needed.

Yet, somewhere deeper inside her . . . she knew she wasn't strong enough to destroy someone like that.

"I'm insulting you . . . why aren't you listening?" Kaiba asked, awaking Mai from her thoughts.

"Because it's all the same from you . . . you just ramble on about how you're better than everyone else." she answered in a very matter-of-fact tone.

"Glad you were listening." he muttered, much like she had in the limo ride there.

"I was." was her immediate response.

"So did you get one of those invitations for that dueling party?" Mai asked, mostly to fill the uneasy silence that was starting to drift into the restaurant. Although uneasy, it was calming . . . sort of like how the humidity gets really thick before a thunderstorm in the summer and everything becomes quiet. It was if the humidity rose at that instant. . . which made everyone to lazy to really speak.

"Yeah, but I've been to them before." Kaiba replied out of boredom, as usual.

"So have I . . . but just in America . . . and usually just to keep up appearances." Mai said with a shrug.

"Appearances . . . I duel, but only if the opponent is worth my time . . . other words there isn't a point. Besides, it not like there is any invention there that can impress me . . . I am, after all the best of the best." he said with a smirk.

"After Yugi." Mai quickly added.

"Excuse me?" Kaiba asked as if he had been talking to a child who had just asked a ridiculous question.

"After Yugi . . . he is the best, only beaten . . . what . . . twice or something, but not by you. In fact he could be like eighty and be blind . . . and he would still beat you." Mai explained.

"Honestly I don't understand your fascination with him . . . unless you like him . . . which Istill think you do . . . Personally I think you should just get over it . . . There is nothing wrong with second place." Mai added.

"Do you hear yourself? The only reason you settle for second is because you've never been first . . . being second, is . . . well you're the first loser . . . never on the top . . . isn't that what drove you all insane and power hungry anyway?" Kaiba asked coldly. For some reason their calm bickering had turned to something else. Instead of joking, it seemed like the words were sincere and truthful. . . as if they were said topurposely hurt the other person.

Mai was just about to respond when she heard the door open. Suddenly Abby and Joey walked in. Abby was beaming happily while Joey looked rather defeated.

Defeated . . . the perfect word to describe how Mai was feeling. Yet it all felt like it was coming together. Her eyes widened to the cold truth.

"You planned this . . . that's why you brought me here . . . to taunt me." Mai accused in a harsh whisper. Kaiba turned around and saw the two getting a table.

"No. . .I didn't plan this part." he said.

"Oh . . . so it's just a perk . . . how am I supposed to believe you?" she asked, her words becoming colder.

"I didn't . . . how and why would I care where the mutt and his tramp goes?" Kaiba responded in another harsh whisper.

"Because your Kaiba . . . you always know where Yugi and his stupid friends are . . . it's like a sick obsession with you . . . plus you want to eliminate me . . . " she rambled.

"I didn't . . . but even if I did . . . this is how I would expect you to act." he added.

"Expect?" she asked in a disbelieving tone.

"Yeah . . . I knew you weren't strong enough to be over him." he concluded.

Mai took a deep breath and rolled her eyes. She was strong enough to be over him. She really was. In fact she was ready to admit in any second . . . but nothing came out.

She bit her lip . . . and she had to face it. Kaiba had won . . . she was weak.

Pushing her chair backward into the waiter, she exited the building without glancing back once.

He did it . . . he proved she was weak. He proved that she couldn't beat him . . . how stupid of it was she to even try? Kaiba was indestructible . . . perfect in almost every sense.

She was weak . . . and full of feeling . . .

So full of it in fact that she let it drive her. She tried to be hard and empty, but it didn't work. Not when Joey hated her with every fiber of his body . . . not when he was getting married to some idiot who Mai was nothing like . . . not when she had to realize the fact that she was alone . . . and she had no one.

Luckily it wasn't raining, because Kaiba had to run to catch up to her. The fact that he even thought about chasing her had to mean something. The fact that he coaxed her into his limo did mean that she had to mean something. Kaiba didn't know, after all. . . she was weak. He never cared for people with weaknesses. . . and this woman. . . well she could not be an exception. Especially considering the fact that she was upset over Joey Wheeler.

She lead a silent protest as they entered his limo . . .

Mai could feel the tears that were daring to spill out, but there was no way that she would ever let that happen.

"I wasn't planning that . . . I was planning to show you the invitation I received . . . but not that." Kaiba explained.

It was a low blow, and he knew it. Hitting people when they were down was always his style. Somehow he was invited to Joey's wedding. . . and Mai wasn't. The thought bounced around in her head for a moment. Mai felt that Kaiba really planned that. He brought her there on purpose, and that was the only clear thought in her head at all. The rest were ignored.

"Why would I care?" Mai asked, ashamed at how her voice quivered.

"You . . . you're weak . . . I always knew you were weak. I knew you could never move on from that loser . . . guess what, he's done with you. He has been done with you . . . get over it. It's like some sick obsession of yours. You're pitiful Valentine . . . and I don't know why I even wasted my time talking to you, because all you showed me today is that you were a waste." Kaiba said in a cold voice that sent chills to anyone.

Mai sat there in silence, letting the insults bounce off of her.

"Stop the car." she commanded.

"It's thunder storming." Kaiba noted as the rain beat down the windows. The thunder also boomed in the sky in such a horrific manner that Mokuba Kaiba himself was hiding under the bed in his locked bedroom.

"Do it." she commanded.

Their truce was long gone, just like the quiet before the storm . . . practically forgotten. She didn't know why she cared so much what he thought . . . but it didn't matter anymore.

Without Joey . . . she had nobody and she was beyond weak and pitiful. Kaiba was right. She didn't even have Kaiba's occasional company anymore. There was no way he'd been seen with her after seeing her storm out on him like that, again.

"Why?"he asked, confused. He didn't mean to insult her as badly as he did, but he hated weak people and right now he hated her . . . and her pitiful ways . . .

He made the motion and the driver pulled over.

"I'll show you who's weak Seto Kaiba . . . you have made an enemy today and if you come out of this . . . I might let you go." Mai said as she slammed the door in his face.

Both were equally fuming . . . but Mai took out her cellphone.

All this time, she's been weak . . . full of petty emotions that stop her from succeeding . . . they blocked the power she could get.

James . . . he could see it . . . he knew she couldn't do it.

Oh, but if he could see her now.

Her blonde hair was drenched and completely straight . . . her clothes clung to her and even though it was cold, she didn't have a single goose bump.

Her eyes were void of any feeling . . . except one . . . rage.

The one feeling she vowed never to give into finally broke free.

Mai was lost . . . defeated. It took a lot to get her to this point. . . and finding out how Kaiba was invited to Joey's wedding was the last straw. Not to mention the fact that part of her was actually somewhat enjoying Kaiba's company. . . and he was gone. Everyone was gone, and they had been for a long time.

She dialed the number as if she had it memorized.

It rang several times, but was unusually clear for the horrendous weather.

A groggy voice answered the phone, but the accent was all to clear and Mai knew who it was. There wasn't a chance to turn around now and she knew it.

She was going to go all the way this time . . . she was sick of being alone and forgotten . . . and at this moment, she was mad at Kaiba and Joey . . . but no matter how she loathed them . . . she hated herself with such a passion that they looked like her best friend.

She hated how weak she was . . . and how far she had come, but because of a man. . . Joseph Wheeler . . . her journey was done. She hated how she felt about him. . . she hated how he was her only friend and she threw that away over power and jealously. She hated how she was feeling something toward Kaiba and he embarrassed her in a manner she couldn't forget.

Her pride was wounded, and that is something hard to bounce back from. Mai didn't know why she kept trying, when everything she did backfired.

What was the point of being 'good' at all if nobody cared, they all compared her to the time in which she was 'evil'.

They abandoned her again, oblivious to her silent pleas for help. They couldn't see her silently falling. . .

So she decided to contact the one person who didn't leave her. . . who was still on her side. . .

Chocking back any more feelings she opened her voice and spoke into the phone as thunder roared in the background.

"Valon . . . It's me . . . I'm ready."


	7. Gametime

Okay wow, another chapter. This one holds some important info, but it's mostly filler (sorry) I'm not as happy with this chapter as I should be, but what can you do? I just needed some things to happen, but the excitement is building up. . . also I wanted at least one more lighthearted moment before things became real serious. . .after all. . .things aren't always as they seem are they?

ArraMidnight- Hey thanks for your opinion! You'll just have to wait and see though!

Growing Pain- I'm alive. . .Don't worry I'm all about the happy endings. . but I also like to make the characters go through things to get there. I also think Mai's loneliness is a huge part of her. . . and I think that everything that happened to her in her life so far won't go away for her as easily as everyone thinks. (Did that make sense? lol) I always thought Serenity was like a little sister to Mai and her part becomes more important, but she won't be as annoying. . . (Serenity isn't my top favorite character either!) Thanks for all the feedback!

5animefan- Mai is my favorite character also. . .I also like Valon and Kaiba a lot too. . . then Joey. . . oh I'm rambling. Don't worry, some good things will happen to her. . . later on. . .uh way later maybe. . .

bunbunlover- Unfortunately no matter how much I love your reviews, I can't reveal the secret of who Mai is going to hook up with. I have to give you a reason to keep reading. . .but I think I can help you. . .

**-Joey's marrying Abby. . . but if you read between the lines you can tell Mai still has feelings for him. . .and he isn't as happy as he should be, hmm wonder why?**

**-Kaiba and Mai bicker like crazy, but for some reason he keeps pestering her. . . of course I can't tell you much more**

**-Well so far, Valon and Mai have some sort of connection, I can't say what it is now, but you'll know soon. . .**

I can't assure her pairing, it's something Mai has to find out for herself, but it will come in time, basically she has two possibilities. . .but I won't tell you who those two are! (evil laughter) Anyway. . . I want the story to be about her journey. . .but she will end up with somebody, But who?

(I'm really saying Mai doesn't know yet. . . )

imakeeper- Hey thanks!

**Disclaimer:** YGO isn't mine. .. I'll never own it.

Okay enough chitchat here we go!

* * *

Kaiba leaned back into his limo. Words ran through his head and he couldn't fully concentrate on anything. It seemed like he was in a dream, one that he couldn't wake up from. He knew, he tried.

Kaiba was supposed to have power. He wasn't supposed to feel anything for anybody. It was the image he had and it was the image he carried.

He proved that tonight.

Emotionally exhausted he massaged his temples. The throbbing in his head wasn't helping him concentrate at all.

He didn't know how he should feel. He had seen Mai go crazy before . . . it was as if something had taken over her.

Is she really a threat?

Kaiba didn't know, but he wasn't willing to find out.

With this decision he decided it would be best to stay away from her.

* * *

Like every major city, Domino had outskirts. Unfortunately the outskirts on the west side of the city weren't the greatest place to be. It seemed to be permanently dark there no matter what time of the day. It also seemed to be permanently cold, as if nobody ever was happy.

It might be a true accusation.

This place was filled with old, broken houses and graffiti. Each house seemed to be painted black, but one would never know what color the house actually was. Years of darkness faded all the color into black. Many were disturbed by this thought . . . wouldn't the color fade to a gray instead of a black? Of course one must put the dirt and grim that filled the section into consideration.

So when a long black limo pulled up with four men stepping out of it in black suits, nobody thought anything of it.

This part of Domino was the place to get any deal done . . . well any unpleasant deal.

The four men were huge, with solemn faces that never saw a real smile in their lifetime.

Two more men walked out. The one was in an old white T-shirt while the other one was dressed in a black suit. It was obvious to anyone that the man in the suit was Valon, which meant the other was James.

They were hardly apart anymore.

James took the place of Raphael and Alister.

He was twice as good, and twice as bad, if that makes sense. James was a trickster and a back stabber . . . the perfect guy to be working undercover at KaibaCorp.

James and Valon glanced at the open door of the limo awaiting someone.

She stepped out and glanced at the house in front of her. It was a house like described earlier.

She took a long sigh and said, "Out of all the places in the world, I have to do this here."

Her voice was heartless, as if she had never had a happy moment in her life.

It was Mai.

She had changed from earlier, wearing long black pants with a black jacket. Her hair still clung around her, after all it was still wet.

She had only called Valon a half an hour ago. He met her at her office, but she hurriedly changed before that. Unlike most people, Mai always had a few spare outfits in her office. It was one of the reasons she had a closet . . . but then again it was her company, so she could have whatever she wanted.

But it still wasn't enough.

The three entered the building, leaving the four men to guard the limo.

The inside of the building was dreary and had a damp feeling. It was dark until Valon flipped the light switch. The light wasn't bright, in fact it was just light enough to show the dust that had gathered on the cluttered boxes and tables inside the house.

A door opened up on the other side of the house. There was a keypad that popped out of somewhere along with the door. Valon entered some numbers and a password to get the door open.

It led to a dark corridor. Mai stood hesitantly at the doorway for a moment.

"Isn't there a light switch?" she asked in an annoyed manner.

"No, don't worry . . . you'll be able to see things clearly soon." Valon called from the never-ending darkness. At least that's what it seemed like.

For the smallest moment, Mailooked back. Her head glanced toward the door on the opposite side of the house. Somewhere, deep inside, something was telling her to go back . . . but she heard her name coming from the hidden corridor again.

"I'm coming." she mumbled as she took a step into the hallway. The door silently swung close behind her.

She didn't pay any attention.

Her feet kept going forward as her mind stopped doubting her. It was if the rage feeling took control and wouldn't let go.

She had felt it before, but then she was being controlled. Or at least lied to and played with. She had been the pawn.

Now she was the one leading the pawns.

She was the one placing each piece in its final place, ready to finally make that checkmate and take down the king.

It was her turn now, and in any second she would be making the move.

Mai entered a room, finally after what seemed like years of darkness. Okay, in her own opinion it seemed like a long walk in the dark, but Mai had never really been free of her own darkness.

The light was bright and she had to squint a little bit to focus. The room had several computers in it, with a huge one near the ceiling.

There was also a huge table, which seemed to be made out of dark mahogany wood. In fact, everything in the room was dark. It was if somebody actually went through and made sure that every computer was black.

"Somebody went overboard with the color coordination." she mocked.

"Is that important?" James asked from the corner as he started the computer. Mai shrugged, so much for witty observations.

"Do you have the envelope?" Valon asked as he sat near the end of the table.

Mai looked at him curiously as she pulled it out of her coat pocket.

She had grabbed it after she had changed. She quickly handed it to him. She wanted to be rid of it as quickly as possible.

"You didn't open it." Valon said in a confused voice.

"Does it matter?" she asked very nonchalantly. Valon gazed at her momentarily and sighed. It didn't seem that important anyway.

He quickly tore it open greedily and placed the papers on the table so each one could be seen.

Everything was in here.

Kaiba's stocks, bank accounts, business profile, security codes and his life story.

"I thought he would have been more secure with these things." Mai observed as she gazed over the numbers and passwords.

"James has a talent for doing the impossible." Valon explained. A small smile crossed his face and he expected to see one of hers. All he received was a blank stare.

"What now boss?'' James asked from across the room. Mai glanced up at him. Boss. It was a word that she was used to saying, but it sounded like another language coming from his lips.

Mai glanced around the room at the other gentlemen. They had entered at various times, and some had been here already.

They were each working hard at their stations.

"Mai?" Valon asked concerned.

She continued to gaze around the room.

All of this . . . this was hers. They all listened to her . . . believed in her.

Her eyes glanced toward the table.

Her hand moved toward a paper and she picked it up. She glanced at it . . . on it was the password to Kaiba's computer . . .

Mokuba . . .

It was simple enough . . . perhaps too simple. A small smile danced across her face as she remembered the younger brother.

Mokuba looked up to Kaiba, needed Kaiba. In a way, Kaiba needed Mokuba.

Could see really destroy him like that . . . could she really ruin Mokuba's world just because his brother was a jerk to her.

Mokuba was innocent, harmless even . . . in a way like Serenity.

Suddenly Valon grabbed Mai's arm.

"Mai, we've been saying your name for five minutes, are you okay?" he asked as he pulled her into the hallway.

The door was quietly shut behind them and his soft voice was the only thing reminding Mai where she was. If he quit talking . . . she would have been easily convinced she was back in the Shadow Realm.

"Does this place have a light?" she asked as if she was a young child.

"Afraid of the dark Mai?" Valon asked her in a harsh voice. Mai shook her head.

"No. . . I just . . . I'm fine." she answered.

"I don't think you are . . . you won't answer me or anyone else. I think you're doubting yourself. In fact . . . right now, I'm doubting you. Are you afraid Mai?" he asked cruelly.

"No." she responded stubbornly.

"I don't believe you . . . we've planned this for a long time, and . . .do you think he feels something for you? We both know that he doesn't. I am the only one here for you and if you walk out because you're afraid then you will have nobody." he whispered in such a voice that Mai wished she could see him. His voice reminded her of others . . . in which she spent every moment of her life trying to forget.

"Don't do that . . . I can do this. I will do this." Mai said with a small quiver in her voice.

"Prove it . . . this is it, the last time you can back out . . . I know you can do this Mai, I feel it . . . and I know that somewhere you do too." he said.

Mai was fuming, how could he say those things to her? Wasn't she powerful enough?

"Do not ever underestimate me again Valon . . . I will not back out . . . but if you ever doubt me again, I won't be so nice about it." she replied, her voice full of rage.

She opened the door, not caring the least wether it hit Valon.

Nobody doubted Mai. She would prove them all wrong.

It was her turn . . . and she would dominate.

"James, start transferring his funds over . . . be subtle, we don't want him to know . . . Since you are in charge of his money, not a word to him . . . everyone else, decipher these codes. . . ." she demanded in a harsh voice that made no one want to disobey her.

Valon smiled, "There's my girl." he whispered.

"Two rules: You do as I say, and you will receive the benefits . . . I am a powerful woman and if you dare to disobey me or doubt me you will be punished. Second rule: Play dirty . . . but keep your hands clean . . . absolutely NOBODY touches Mokuba . . . nobody." She instructed. She was met by solemn approving faces.

They were all mesmerized by her.

Turning on her heel, she mentioned that it would be suspicious if she was away too long. Valon moved from the doorway, giving her a smile.

He was meant by a small one.

The door was closed behind her as James approached him.

"You were right. She really will get it done." he whispered.

"Told you." Valon replied with a small laugh.

"But, how do you know that she won't back off, I mean she did last time right?" he asked. Valon glared.

"I do . . . see last time she had a weakness . . . last time she wasn't in charge . . . last time she had someone to pull her out . . . she doesn't have that anymore. If she pulls out on this, she will have nobody, and she knows it." Valon explained in a lighthearted and somewhat evil manner.

"What about that Wheeler guy?" James asked. Valon groaned.

"Did you just hear my speech? Mr. Wheeler, well he's getting married . . . to a woman who is the exact opposite as Mai. It was what Joey was looking for, after all he isn't nearly capable to handle her. So I gave Miss Abby a little push in some restaurant and she landed on nobody other than Joey's lap. Later that wait Joey was mysteriously hit by a car. . . of course the two started talking at the hospital and she mentioned that she thought she was being followed . . . and the rest is history. . .they needed a little push though and I hated that car . . . " Valon explained.

"Does Mai know that?" James asked.

"Is that important?" Valon asked darkly. James raised an eyebrow.

"You feel something for her, don't you?" James asked.

Valon stood in silence for a moment, his eyes still lingering on the doorway . . .

"Get back to work James." he replied curtly.

James did as he was told. Valon turned from the doorway.

"She'll get what she wanted. She's just a little rusty and insecure . . . that has to be it." Valon thought to himself . . . hoping that he was right.

* * *

By the time Mai arrived back in her office, her natural and somewhat frizzy curls were bouncing around her head in such a manner that Mai seriously thought about getting them cut off right then.

She ignored the thought and leaned back into her chair. It had started to rain again, but then again it was nothing new.

New . . . new like the power she was feeling.

The feeling was so new and yet so old all at the same time. It confused her, but she didn't care.

She let it control her . . . the rage . . . the pain.

Her gazed was permanently fixed upon the window. She smiled as each raindrop hit the pavement beneath her window.

She saw various people running around, trying to find shelter from the wetness. A smile ran across her face, but it wasn't a normal smile. It was one full of mischief and yet . . . some sort of happiness.

"Look at them down there . . . running around . . . want to know why? It's not because of the rain . . . no. . . the rain is refreshing . . . it washes your soul . . . but them . . . those _people _are lost. They don't have a _purpose_. I wonder what it's like, to not have a purpose. I bet it feels awful to realize that you don't have a reason for living. What do you think?" Mai asked in a calm voice, as if she was really entertained. Yet at the same time she almost sounded confused.

Serenity stood in the doorway, surprised Mai even heard her approach the office.

"I think that it would be horrible . . . but I think everyone has a purpose." Serenity answered. She was a bit confused at Mai's attitude, but she didn't make a deal out of it.

Mai still gazed out the window, but she did let a small laugh out.

"What's yours?" Mai asked, her voice full of control. Serenity walked toward Mai and stood next to her, also gazing below.

"I don't know yet, but it takes a while." Serenity explained. She sounded full of hope, but to Mai she sounded childish.

"Who told you that?" Mai asked. Her voice became harsher and more bitter . . . non caring. She didn't glance at Serenity once.

"My brother." Serenity answered, full of confidence. Mai got off of her chair without removing her gaze.

Mai stood silent for a while, listening to the thunder and watching the people hurriedly run to their cars.

"Things will become a lot simpler for you once you learn it." Mai replied after some time.

"What's yours?" Serenity asked. The good feeling that Serenity used to have around Mai was gone. It was like Mai was a different person . . . as if she was shut down or cold.

Mai shrugged.

"We'll find out.'' she said.

Mai left the office shortly standing there, leaving Serenity standing there very confused.

Serenity was in the same spot when Duke entered the office.

"Oh Serenity, I was hoping to talk to Mai." he explained as he gave a bright smile. Serenity rolled her eyes and laughed.

"I'm not sure, she was in a weird mood." she answered in a happier tone than earlier.

"She does have some major mood swings." he answered.

"Hey Duke . . . " Serenity started to say as she glanced out the window again.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Never mind." she answered, the question was gone from her head and she lead Duke out of the office.

* * *

Joey once declared that he would never wear a suit again. Of course that was at his cousins wedding and he was eight.

Now that it was his wedding, he had to wear one.

"Do I need a bow tie?" Joey asked Yugi as he stood in front of the mirror in the dressing room at the tuxedo place.

Joey had been there for a few hours, trying on some many different suits and tuxes that the words seemed dirty to them.

"Yes, you need a bow tie darling." Abby called back, answering for Yugi. She was busy throwing different jackets and things over Joey's changing room door.

Each time the outfit went over and landed on Joey's head, he sighed.

He wasn't cut out for this type of thing.

"Now . . . how about white? Would that be too much white? What do you think Tea? Oh . . . I know . . . brown . . . " Abby busily asked as the two women walked around the mens aisle of the store.

The wedding dress was already purchased, it was just getting outfits for everyone else that was the problem.

"I think it would be too much white." Tea answered, but Joey wasn't really paying attention.

"Hey Yug is my sis here yet . . . ya know so the girls can go concentrate on themselves for a while instead of me." Joey joked through the door.

"No. . . she's busy with her new internship. You never did tell me where it was." Yugi explained.

"I kinda forgot myself . . . actually." he admitted as he tried on a brown pair of pants.

It took several more minutes before Abby coaxed Joey to come out of his dressing room. When he finally did, he was dressed in a black tux with a black bow tie . . . the same outfit that he tried on about three hours ago.

"Aw!" Abby and Tea exclaimed.

"I really need the bow tie?" Joey asked in a whiney voice. The girls nodded.

"It doesn't feel like me." Joey said after studying himself for a while.

"That's because it's not." Kaiba answered with a smirk on his face. He had been looking for a new suit for a duel monsters event he had to attend. He was now seriously doubting his longtime shopping choice.

"Nobody asked you moneybags." Joey replied. Kaiba still smirked.

"I do like the bow tie though . . . it reminds me of the same thing my driver wears." Kaiba answered.

Joey rolled his eyes and threw the bow tie at Kaiba.

"Much better." Joey said as he went to change back into his normal clothes.

The bell on the door rang and somebody else walked into the store. It happened to be Serenity and Duke.

"Hey guys!" Tea called as she waved to them across the store. The two walked over there just as Joey walked out of his dressing room.

"Oh Joey . . . I wanted to see you all dressed up." she whined.

"Nope . . . should have been on time." was his reply.

"Like you ever are." Serenity whined. Joey just shrugged.

"You'll have to wait now." he answered. Serenity pouted and remained silent for the next few minutes while Joey, Tea and Kaiba all bickered about who knows what.

"How did he even get invited?" Tristan asked Yugi while looking through racks of clothes.

"I told him too . . . I mean come on he's always around and and he's helped us . . . plus Mokuba wanted to go." Yugi explained after Tristan gave him such a quizzical look that Yugi couldn't stop talking.

"Yeah helped us when it was helpful for him." Tristan muttered.

"Still counts." Yugi shot back.

"Whatever man." Tristan finished with a sigh. He knew it was a losing argument and Duke was in his line of vision. Tristan wanted to talk to Duke for a while, but Joey was always around.

"Duke." Tristan said as he approached him. Duke nodded.

"I need to talk to you about Serenity." Tristan added. Duke was ready to become defensive. After all Serenity definitely liked Duke, she talked to him all the time at work . . . right?

"What about her . . . afraid that she's finally gonna admit she loves me best?" Duke teased.

"No. . . and besides . . . no, I won't start it. Does Joey know where she works yet?" Tristan asked, cutting right to the chase.

"I don't think so, why?" Duke asked.

"Well because of you know who!" Tristan exclaimed. Duke raised an eyebrow.

"What, you can't say her name?" Duke asked. Tristan stomped his foot showing his anger.

"I don't want to . . . but if he finds out Serenity won't be able to work there . . . and she'll be upset . . . " Tristan explained.

"So he doesn't find out." Duke replied nonchalantly.

"Well don't you even find it weird that she has this huge corporation and wants a student to work there . . . "Tristan rambled.

"No." was Duke's response.

"I just don't want Serenity to become like her." Tristan said, finally getting to his point. Duke nodded and the feeling was mutual between the two.

"I'll watch over her." Duke decided with a smile and Tristan stomped away.

The group only stayed a while, but they had other things to plan.

Yugi, who was going to pay for the tux, stated that he would catch up with the group later.

The group all ran out to their cars, mostly because it was raining . . . leaving Yugi with some alone time that he was beginning to crave.

After years of being with all of them, some silence was good.

He was busy paying for the outfits when a cold breeze flew in through the store. Cold chills ran up Yugi's spine, but he ignored it as the door being open.

"Most be colder than I thought." Yugi muttered as he filled out his checks.

He didn't notice that at the end of the very long desk was a woman who was going to pick up some outfits for something.

"Here you go Miss Valentine." the cashier said and Yugi glanced up. Mai was indeed picking up something.

"Hey Mai." he called. She didn't acknowledge him at all. Yugi stared at her for a moment.

It was funny how the rain was pouring down from the sky so hard and yet Mai's hair was perfectly dried and curled.

She looked absolutely professional and carried a new aura about her. Anybody could sense it from a mile away, but it was hard to tell what changed about her.

"Hi Mai." Yugi said again as he approached her. He figured that she just didn't hear him a few moments ago. She turned around somewhat quickly and forced a smile.

"Oh . . . hi Yugi." she greeted before giving her attention back to the desk.

"I actually said hi a while ago, but you mustn't have heard me." he explained. Mai just nodded her head.

"Huh, what about that." she replied in a voice that sounded like she didn't care . . . but Yugi just ignored that part.

"So why are you here Mai?" Yugi asked. He was trying to fill up the silence in the room.

"Business." she answered nonchalantly as the cashier handed her some suits and one evening dress. Yugi didn't pay attention to what they looked like. He was watching Joey run into the store.

"Hey Yug. . .I almost forgot Abby wants to pay for everything else today." Joey exclaimed. Yugi rolled his eyes but smiled. Ever since Yugi inherited his grandpa's store . . . he was making so much money . . . plus he did win all of those championships. Yugi was glad that he could help his friend by paying for some of the major expenses of the wedding.

It took a whole month to get Joey to agree, but it was the only was to work everything out.

"So Yugi . . . you're paying for Joey's wedding . . . that's so cute. But now I'm curious . . . are you going to pay for his house and his utilities . . . or. . . and now here's an option . . . are you going to let little Joseph and Abby realize that the world graduated fromelementary schooland that there is a time when they have to grow up?" she asked. Yugi stared at her quietly for a moment.

"No answer . . . huh . . . you guys usually can't stop talking . . . oh well . . . see ya around." she said with a smile and a wave.

Joey stood speechless for a moment. He didn't know what was going on. It would be why he didn't move when Kaiba pushed him out of the way to leave.

"Don't listen to her Joey." Yugi said, hopefully comforting his friend. He knew Joey hated having Yugi pay for it . . . so much in fact that Joey was going to pay Yugi back eventually.

"What is her problem?" Joey asked aloud as Yugi finished paying for the clothes.

"Probably having a bad day." Yugi replied with a sigh. Joey stood memorized for a second.

"I don't know . . . she seemed . . . I don't know . . . different you know?" Joey asked, hoping that Yugi knew what he meant. Joey couldn't put it into words how she was different. He just felt it.

"Not really." Yugi replied and the conversation was dropped. Joey figured he was overreacting and decided that he shouldn't really care anyway . . .

Kaiba had walked three blocks before cursing madly and going back to his car. Why he didn't take it originally didn't make sense to him . . .

Something else did.

His check bounced . . . and that was something that never happened to Seto Kaiba . . . Never. Kaiba figured that somebody who worked for him messed up his account. That had to be the only explanation.

Kaiba speed through the street as he followed a black BMW until it turned into a parking lot.

He pulled up right behind it.

He practically jumped out of his car.

"Mai." he called. She spun around on her heels and looked at him.

"What?" she spat out madly. How could he have the nerve to even talk to her after what he said.

Kaiba just stared. How could he tell her anything . . . she angered him. She made him hate her . . . she was powerful.

Perhaps as powerful as him . . .

And he was drawn to her.

He didn't know why . . . maybe it was because she could actually relate to him or because she had a lot of power . . . and she was dangerous.

Kaiba was attracted to power and danger.

"I didn't mean everything I said." he said emotionlessly. Kaiba didn't apologize and that was the way he was.

"What?" she asked again. The rain had stop and a damp fog was hanging over them.

"I'm not repeating it." he responded coldly.

Mai stood quietly for a while . . . this wasn't happening to her. She wouldn't accept it. Kaiba never apologized . . . no. . . Mai shook her head and walked away.

He was going to ruin her plans . . . by being . . .no. . . That couldn't happen. She wasn't going to lose the game over feelings. It's what happened last time.

She took a deep breath and walked into the building void of emotion . . .

There would be no more Joey or Kaiba for her.

She couldn't handle it.

She had a job to do and nothing would stand in her way.

Game time had started and it was still her turn.


	8. There Is A Point Of No Return

Okay my good readers . . . the plan is underway and in a big way. After all you didn't think a giant corporation takeover against Kaiba was going to be as simple as entering some codes, did you? It may seem that way but things are never easy, are they? No, not usually. ( I kind of like this chapter . . . that's weird.)

**_Warning:_** This chapter I plan to see how 'evil' I can make Mai go. Unfortunately there is some violence, but for a lot of it you must read in between the lines. Honestly I don't think I should have to up the rating . . . I don't feel it's that bad . . . but if anybody does then I will happily up the rating!

**Growing Pain -** Wow that was a quick review! Don't worry, do ya really think I'd let Kaiba give up without a fight! Nope . . . but things get worse before they get better . . . oh and Joey will have a few things to say . . . but that is also later. I liked the character of Valon and I needed him for this fic to work so I hope that you can still read it even though he's in it . . . but don't worry everything will work out! I'm just glad that I made you feel something for the characters . . . it makes me feel that my fic doesn't totally suck . . . thanks!

**5animefan**- Let me just say that your review cheered me up on a horrible day, thank you. I'm glad you appreciated this chapter. I do feel that Mai needs some light in her life, but alas . . . it probably will not come until the new few chapters . . . but it will. Valon, like Mai, seemed to me that he could have gone to the 'good' side, but sometimes ones own personal experiences hold them back and that is what I tried to portray . . . you see more of why Valon is doing what he is doing in this chapter actually, but I don't want to give it away:)

Review or Don't . . . it's up to you.

**Disclaimer: YGO is not mine.

* * *

**

"_I have found that all that shimmers in this world is sure to fade away again."_ **Fuel - Shimmer**

"_Hoping that she could cry_

_Now finding out that it all was a lie_

_What she built up_

_Was never enough_

_And she needs someone new_

_And she cries:_

_How did I get this far_

_Why are things falling apart_

_Someone turn the light on_

_But I'll be gone before dawn_

_Watch my walls crashing down_

_As they fall to the ground_

_Man I hate this part_

_Don't know where to start_

_To build myself up_

_My blood runs cold and it's getting old how I'm alone_" - part of a song I wrote

* * *

Even though she filled the glass with champagne, in the next few seconds it would become empty again. It was a never-ending process of filling, drinking and filling. It could only end when the bottle did or when she stopped.

Why would she want to do that?

Alone in her office she had nobody to impress . . . nobody to hurt . . . lead . . . worry about . . . she had herself.

That certainly didn't matter to her.

So she filled the glass again.

Mai let out a loud sigh.

She remembered when this used to give her headaches . . . when it would make her want to puke out her existence.

It didn't even give her a buzzing feeling anymore, only the feeling of contentment . . . and a warmth that she usually didn't have.

After all, she was cold most of the time.

Mai always tried to drink alone . . . ; she learned that lesson after the last time she drank with Valon. It lead to some fuzzy memories and the loss of her motorcycle. It was a good thing that the police officer didn't give her a breath test.

Mai let a smile cross her face. That had been a few years ago, but the memory stayed fresh in her mind.

Valon, truthfully, was the only one who could handle her this way . . .

She laughed as she tried to imagine Kaiba doing this . . . drinking until he was struck dumb and spilling out his darkest secrets . . . it wouldn't be anything she didn't know already . . .

She had a team dedicated to finding out all of Kaiba's secrets . . . but it would be more fun if he admitted them.

Next she tried to Joey drinking with her. No clear picture could come into her head . . . in fact she had no clue on what kind of drinking partner he would be.

Mai had a feeling that he wouldn't be a newbie . . . and pushed the thought of having a good time back in her mind.

The time for fun had passed and now it was time to become serious.

Mai poured the last drop into her glass and stared at it for a while.

She knew the building was empty and that she was the only person who would want to stay this late.

Her head titled to the side in amazement.

After this gulp, there was two-hundred dollars gone within a few days.

She gulped it and let out a smile.

"Funny how I consider that cheap." she mused aloud.

She leaned back into her seat and propped her feet on the table.

"Good thing Kaiba payed for it." she added.

* * *

"I want to find out right now who screwed up and why!" Kaiba shouted furiously. He had found himself in his own office, but unlike Mai's it was full of unhappy people.

When Kaiba was unhappy, so were his workers.

"Yes Mr. Kaiba." James answered as he scuttled away to his office. Many other various workers also followed that action.

Kaiba was utterly confused how the richest man in Japan had a check that bounced. It didn't make sense to him or to anyone else.

Sighing he threw his briefcase on the floor. It landed with a thud and somehow opened up at the moment it made contact.

Papers flew all over the office and this only infuriated him more.

"Mr. Kaiba!" somebody called as they rushed into his office. The man was followed by James who wore an insecure face.

"You can't just barge in here." Kaiba yelled as he pounded his hands off of the table.

"It's all gone . . . everything. Somebody bought out all of your shares, stocks . . . everything. You don't have a single penny to your name. Your company, it belongs to someone else . . . "the man explained quickly.

"Who?" Kaiba asked as he hurriedly turned on his laptop. He tried to enter into his personal program, but the password had been changed.

"We don't know." the man answered, shaking his head in a confused manner.

"We've dealt with this before and we will do it again." Kaiba said confidently.

"Not this bad . . . whoever planned this. They've been planning it for a while." the man answered.

Kaiba looked down at his desk and shook his head in a disapproving way.

"We will . . . James, go work on this." Kaiba instructed and James shook his head in understanding.

The other man had also left to go and decipher all of the codes that popped out on various computer screens.

"Kaiba, the game rooms are all shut down." somebody reported.

"Mr. Kaiba . . . somehow all of your duel disks have become contaminated with some sort of virus . . . it's spreading through all of your merchandise as we speak . . . through everything you own." came another voice from over the speaker.

Mokuba, who had been sleeping on the couch on the other side of the room came over to his big brother.

"Any ideas Seto?" he asked, his voice full of worry.

"Maybe . . . but I'm not sure." Kaiba replied. Mokuba looked at him confused.

"It could be anyone . . . Maybe who worked for Pegasus . . . or maybe a crazy Dartz follower . . . " Mokuba suggested. Kaiba shrugged.

"I have a lot of enemies." was his short reply.

"Who do you think it is Seto?" Mokuba asked. Kaiba shook his head.

"It doesn't matter, I have to work on deciphering these codes . . . but Mokuba . . . I don't want you to leave this room, do you understand me?" Kaiba explained as he kept typing numbers and words into his laptop.

Mokuba made a whining sound, but pulled a chair up next to his brother.

* * *

James leaned up against the wall in the alleyway. He was shrouded in darkness. To a usually observant person, he couldn't be seen.

The man who had reported all of the terrible things to Kaiba had stepped outside for a cigarette . . . because smoking wasn't acceptable for KaibaCorp.

The man went into the dark alley and there was a small amount of screaming.

James came out with a satisfied smile.

The moon became covered by clouds and darkness filled the city, as if there wasn't a moon at all.

Everyone at KaibaCorp was busy trying to find out how and who took over the company, ignoring the lateness of the day.

Nobody else came out of that alley.

* * *

The previous day had ended and a new one did begin like usual.

Mai had somehow found herself at her headquarters busily giving orders. James called and mentioned that Kaiba knew that someone had taken his money but was unsure of whom.

"I think we need somebody to run interference." Valon suggested.

He was sitting in the chair next to Mai, overlooking some sort of boring papers that meant nothing to anybody but them and Kaiba.

"James is doing that." Mai mentioned, " Kaiba's not going to stay clueless for long. I'm surprised that he hasn't found out by now."

"Are you worried?" Valon asked, concern showing in his eyes, but not his voice. Mai shook her head.

"No . . . but have we started to ship out the new duel disks?" she asked. Valon smiled.

"The ones that are new and improved . . . and from some out of country company?" he asked.

"Yes those. What did you call them?" she asked him. A part of their plan was to put a virus into Kaiba's main computer frame. It just so happens that his main computer frame held all of the information for every duelist in Japan and a few other countries, because all of their duel disks ran off of that computer.

If the computer became infected, all of the duel disks would be infected also. This way, all of the duelists would have to purchase new duel disks. It was common sense that they wouldn't want to purchase them from KaibaCorp . . . so Mai decided to have somebody steal Kaiba's design but change it by just a little.

Some of the little changes were that the duel disk could come in different colors and sizes. It also now had sound effects to maximize the dueling experience. At least that's what the ad in Mai's magazine claimed.

Mai had put the headquarters in Mexico . . . in fact that was where all of the stolen money was being transferred to.

It was a brilliant plan that Mai and Valon had been working on ever since they met up again.

"Are you listening to me?" Valon asked. Mai shook her head, unaware that she drifted off.

"Sure." she answered as she glanced around the room.

"Only a couple of weeks then we can finally go to Mexico. You'll have all the money you'll ever need. Once we get there, we can finally purchase that island you wanted . . . you know that one with the long beaches and huge palm trees." Valon said happily,"You'll be the winner and everybody else will be broken in your wrath. It's your time Mai."

Mai just glanced at him for a second before letting his words actually work their way up to her brain.

She smiled brightly.

"Everyone whoever hurt you will be punished . . . look at how Kaiba denied your power. He has none now . . . not with the bad press he's receiving and then there's the fact that he has absolutely nothing to his name . . . all because he doubted you." Valon whispered in an excited voice.

Mai stared at him emotionlessly.

"And Wheeler . . . I have special plans for him." he added.

"But don't worry Mai . . . that's not until closing, right now we've got a show to enjoy." Valon whispered again.

Mai laid her head on her hand and gazed at Valon, letting him ramble on about a paradise that seemed too far away for her to reach.

* * *

After seemingly long hours of staring at computer screens, Kaiba blinked. His eyes were sore and he was convinced that he would become blind if he kept staring at the computer screen. It might have been possible, but he ignored it and kept trying to crack the code.

A few moments after, he finally cracked the password.

Soon, using special computer equipment, he was lead to the mainframe of the computer. This was right where the virus was and all of a sudden his laptop was infected.

He threw it on the ground just as a small sound came from it.

He ignored it and grabbed Mokuba and they walked away.

The screen on the computer seemed to be transformed to a clock in which the number 120:00:00 read. Each second the time decreased as if it was counting down to something.

* * *

Joey walked quickly through the brisk air with Yugi on his tail. They quickly entered the flower shop, a place that Joey said he would never go.

It wasn't that he hated flowers, he just felt that it insulted his masculinity. He then remembered Tea smacking him across the face . . . which is how he found himself there.

He went to go talk to the shopkeeper about the flowers that needed to be ordered for the wedding, but the man shushed him. His attention was drawn to the television.

"Hey Yug, it's Kaiba!" Joey exclaimed. Yugi stepped away from the carnations and focused his eyes on the screen.

"He's in a press conference." Yugi noticed. He also saw the expression on Kaiba's face, which was crueler than usual. The shopkeeper, whose name tag said Greg, nodded toward Yugi's direction.

"Have you been living under a rock? Kaiba's gone completely bankrupt . . . and all of those duel disk thingys have become infected with some virus . . . that will really hurt the economy . . . kids go crazy . . . heck I've seen grown men cry over some of those duel disks . . . pitiful really." he explained.

"This coming from a man who owns a flower shop." Joey whispered in Yugi's ear. Yugi only rolled his eyes and listened to Kaiba confirm that they are fixing the problem.

"We should help." Yugi stated as he glanced around the store. It was now Joey's turn to roll his eyes.

"Why? Chances are you'll just get drug into it anyway . . . mine as well wait it out . . . it's not our problem." Joey said in noncaring manner as he smelled some roses. He pulled out a piece of paper and read the flower order.

"Purple roses . . . do they even have those?" he asked the shopkeeper. Greg then gave Joey a explanation on how to dye a flower in which Joey found somewhat interesting.

Yugi was still speechless. It just didn't seem right for him to not help Kaiba. He always did and nothing should really change now.

"Lets talk it over with everyone . . . then see if we can help?" Yugi asked.

"Fine." Joey muttered as he placed his order.

The whole ordeal seemed too unreal to Yugi. How and why did Kaiba go bankrupt? Why were all of the duel disks acting up? Somebody somewhere was seriously out to get Kaiba, and Yugi wasn't going to let it happen without a fight.

* * *

Mai couldn't exactly remember how she ended up in a bed . . . or where she was.

Sitting up she looked around the room . . . it looked like bunch of people lived here.

She was still at headquarters . . . "Suppose they need to sleep too." she murmured as she stepped around the miscellaneous objects on the floor.

She walked into the main room and was greeted by a bunch of people celebrating their almost successful takeover.

"Valon." Mai called, she couldn't see him in the mass of computers and people.

"Valon?" she called, unsure of where he was.

She found him after searching for a little bit. He was sitting in the corner, discussing something.

When she reached them, James hid something behind his back and gave her a big smile.

"What's up?" she asked, twirling her hair around her finger in a valley-girl manner.

"Working on the backup plan." James quickly answered. Mai raised an eyebrow.

"Backup is always good . . . I'm impressed . . . I knew we could pull it off." she exclaimed. Her eyes were filled with something, joy perhaps . . . but to most, all they saw was power.

She was on top and nobody could take her down.

Valon stared at her, his eyes were full of respect and something else.

"Best thing is that we didn't have to resort to dueling or kidnaping Mokuba . . . I noticed that a lot of people lose when they kidnap that kid." she noted.

"Mai . . . we uh need to talk." Valon said darkly. Mai looked stunned for a moment.

"Excuse me? Well nothing good ever comes after that sentence." she said with a small laugh, as if she was trying to hide her insecurity.

"Read this." Valon said as he handed her the paper.

The main headline was about Kaiba.

"Yeah . . . so that was our plan . . . to take everything that Kaiba had." she said confused. Valon then pointed toward the bottom of the paper.

That headline, which was much smaller, said that a local man had been beaten in an alley.

"So . . . it happens all the time.'' she stated confused.

"Mai . . . listen . . . the reason we picked you to lead was because you've earned it. You've got power . . . and intelligence . . . and you're full of hidden potential. Look what we accomplished because of you! But the reason I jumped in was because of this stuff . . . a corporate takeover does involve some dirty work." Valon explained. Mai stared at him confused.

"I didn't want that." she blurted out, but it was in a small whisper.

"No . . . that's why we did it." Valon said as he pointed toward James.

"What are you saying . . . that I wasn't strong enough to handle this . . . did you think I couldn't do that? Less you forget Valon . . . I stole Pegasus's soul . . . his essence without a blink or a tear . . . I took Jo . . . forget it." she spat out madly as she threw the paper on the ground and walked out of the building, ignoring Valon as he called her name.

"Mai . . . I wasn't saying you weren't strong but. . ." he started to say but she pushed him into the wall of the building.

"I told you that if you doubted me I wouldn't be nice about . . . I can handle this Valon . . . and I don't need you to protect me from my feelings . . . I have no feelings . . . none . . . except for one, and that's rage . . . trust me, you don't want to get on my bad side, which is funny because it's the only side I seem to have anymore." she said as she let him drop to the ground. Each word she spoke sounded harsh and bitter, as if she was talking to her worst enemy.

It sounded as if she hated Valon.

He sat on the ground motionless as he watched Mai drive away in a hurry.

He didn't know where she was going . . . and he didn't want to find out

* * *

The room in the hospital was colored blue, literally. The bed sheets were of a light blue color and it matched the curtains precisely.

The floor, made of tiles, was also blue with white squares between the blue ones . . . and the actual wall color was blue. It was all a lighter shade of blue. The hospital tried desperately to get the color to match the sky, but the color turned out to be more of a blue-green than anything.

At least it wasn't dark, but if one stared at it for a while, they might easily become sick of it . . .

That was the first thing Mai Valentine noticed as she stepped into said room.

The fact that there was a man lying in the bed didn't even catch her attention.

"Horrible coordination, don't you think?" she asked the man.

He opened his eyes and gave a small smile. Mai just tilted her head to the side and walked to the side of the bed, near all of the breathing equipment.

Careful not to bump anything, she stood and stared down at the man. His hair hung damply over his head and he was quite pale.

She frowned at him.

"Well . . . you don't know me. I'm Mai Valentine, but I know you . . . Max, right? Of course, I uh read your medical chart . . . unfortunately I couldn't see what was wrong with you. Gotta hate how doctors scribble." she rambled in a delightful voice.

She almost pulled the chair over, but stayed standing instead. The smile on her face was starting to fade with each passing second, but that's what she wanted.

"Max. . . Max. . . Max. . . Mr. I work for Kaiba and report everything that goes wrong Max. . . " she addressed him. His eyes looked toward the other side of the room at the walls as if trying to ignore her presence. He would talk, but after being beaten up. . . he was too weak to mutter a word.

"Can't talk can you? It's fine, I will. I'm usually good at this part. So you're the guy who found out what was going on. Huh, good for you, you must be a very intelligent man. Go on . . . don't be modest. Oh, right . . . no talking . . . But see the thing is, is well you almost destroyed my entire plan . . . I can't have that . . . see all of those scratches, bruises . . . and is that a cut? Anyway they're just scar tissue . . . you know what happens to scar tissue . . . it fades. It fades away, sometimes leaving no traces of their being a bruise . . . sometimes leaving a horrible scar for you to look at." Mai said as she ran her finger against the silver bar. It was cold to the touch, but she kept doing it. Perhaps for effect, or to feel something . . . nobody will ever know.

"But the funny thing is is that it will never fade away. Nope, life is more than physical pain. It's mental too . . . and you'll never forget it. Sure maybe you'll forget how the temperature suddenly dropped as you stepped out the door to light that one last cigarette . . . but you won't forget that first punch or the next kick . . . the unanswered cries for help as you drown into your own darkness . . . you'll never forget that." she continued . . . yet her speech sounded more like her with every word. Surprisingly the usual quiver wasn't present.

"You won't forget the sound of his voice as he attacked you and you surely won't forget mine. You won't forget how cold you are right now or how you've never been so alone. We are more alike than you think . . . because I've lived all of that . . . the difference is that I have a few more years than you." It was her final statement, and an exceptionally harsh one at that.

With that she walked out of the room as if she was never there. Suddenly a high-pitched noise came from the room and all of the nurses rushed to the room.

Mai smiled.

There wasn't going to be a way to bring her down.

She didn'tsee the man watching her from a few feet away. He had been doing some 'charity' (publicity) work at the hospital.

He didn't mean to eavesdrop . . . but it was hard for him not to. He ran his hand through his hair and let out a sigh . . .

He knew that she seemed more uptight lately . . . but what she said in that room, that was crazy . . .

Now Duke had a reason to confront her.

Rushing into the night, he ran faster than he thought he could . . .

After some time chasing her, Duke finally found Mai walking. It confused him because women shouldn't be alone in Domino by themselves at night. Domino wasn't safe . . . but it was mostly because of people like her.

"Mai . . . we uh . . . we need to talk." he said as bravely as he could. She turned around and cocked her head to one side.

"Huh . . . what about?" she asked, acting rather coy as if she never did anything hurtful to anyone.

"I, well I heard what you said back there . . . and I know what you've been up too." he admitted, but with each second his new found courage failed a little bit more.

"Oh . . . well . . . yeah . . . hey, so you have been following me!" she exclaimed, convinced that she was no longer crazy. She knew that somebody was following her and that she wasn't making it up.

"Yeah when I heard that Valon left a message on your voice mail I was a little concerned, for the safety of my friends." he explained quickly. Mai stood stunned for a while.

"So you know, what?'' she asked, her voice becoming hard and mean.

"That you were using psychology on that man back there . . . because he found out about your little plan . . . and, all this . . . it was you . . . wasn't it . . . Kaiba . . . and the duel disks, that was all you.'' Duke stated, in disbelief.

Mai stood there unimpressed.

"Wow Sherlock . . . you caught on . . . so now what?" she asked, laughing the whole time. Her laugh wasn't ordinary though, it was haunting and so cold that it chilled Duke to the bone.

"I tell everybody . . . and they will do something about it." was his determined answer.

"Really! You know what . . . if Kaiba didn't find out by now than shame on him . . . besides the money is out of his reach anyway." she explained.

Duke took a deep breath and stood up straighter.

"You need to stop . . . you really do. I don't know what happened to you or why you're doing this . . . but you need to stop. Remember what happened last time?" Duke asked, his voice full of concern.

"Or did you forget?" he whispered as he walked past her into the night. Her brain told her to go after him, to make him pay for saying those things to her . . .

But she couldn't move.

Her feet were stuck in the middle of the street and she was out of her mind.

She took a gulp of air . . . at one time it would have been fresh . . . but now it was polluted and dirty . . . like what she had become.

She turned her head to the side and focused her eyes into the darkness . . . and she started walking toward a building.

It was older and well hidden from the huge buildings in which she lived at anymore.

To get there, one must travel through dangerous back alleys and long lonely sidewalks.

Mai walked in, and sat down at the booth . . . ignoring the stares and cat calls. She didn't want to deal with anyone tonight . . . not Valon or Duke . . . absolutely nobody.

The bartender had approached her and she ordered . . . straight vodka, something that she didn't drink since she worked with Dartz . . .

Dartz . . . the name made chills run up her spine and yet at the same time it sadden her . . .

When she worked for him, there was no pain . . . no weaknesses . . . just power and rage . . . perfection.

She was stripped down of her heart and all that was left was her passion to rule.

She missed that, and it was lost somewhere along the way.

She glanced around the bar and saw that everything was dimly lite and that everything was made out of dark wood with a blood-red carpet.

It seemed almost cozy to someone like her.

"World of problems Miss?" the bartender asked. He was obviously older than most and the look in his hazel eyes should that he saw more than most. Mai shrugged.

"Sure you don't want to share them . . . after all, it's not that often we get a person like you in here." he added. Mai cocked her head to the side and raised an eyebrow. She didn't want to answer anything . . . she came here to be alone, because she always drank alone.

"What kind of person am I?" she laughed as she drank another shot. The bartender gazed at her, slightly amused.

"Defiantly not from around here . . . but I've got to tell you that I"ve never seen a beautiful woman in a business suit drink like that without flinching.'' he explained . . . his voice melting into Mai's ears.

"It's a front." she answered quietly with a smile on her face. The barkeeper laughed at this, his eyes twinkling . . . almost reminding Mai of somebody's grandpa.

"Huh." he said after the laughing was done. There wasn't any other customers as most of them left from the time Mai approached.

"So what is a girl like you doing in a dump like this?" he asked again, perhaps trying to pry a good story out of her.

"Needed a break from everyone . . . just needed something." was her response.

"Boyfriend troubles?" he asked softly. Mai laughed and rolled her eyes.

She then lifted her glass and watched how the light reflected into the liquid. After moving the glass a few more times she spoke.

"It's funny how in one moment the whole world can be yours. You're on the top and nothing can bring you down, then all of a sudden . . . your whole world goes black and you find yourself hopelessly drowning in a sea of darkness . . . and you can't swim . . . so you keep trying to rise above when you know that it's a lost cause, so you drown." Her eyes never left the glass.

"It can't be that bad." the bartender said as he cocked his head sideways and placed the vodka bottle underneath the cabinet, secretly cutting her off.

"It is . . . lost my friends . . . myself . . . lost my plan and . . . my courage." she said bitterly as she placed the glass on the table, empty.

"Oh." was his confused response. He was almost desperate to hear her story.

"Tomorrow . . . when this warm feeling wears off . . . the guilt and the pain will set in . . . and they're gonna except me to keep doing what I'm doing. I want to do this . . . to prove that the power is mine and that nobody can take it away from me . . . but I can't . . . so I'll keep deluding myself . . . drinking until I'm warm and perhaps lose another friend. Won't need them in the end anyway." Mai whispered as she laid the money on the table and walked out.

The bartender looked at it curiously, she left one-hundred dollars . . . and he didn't know why and yet he did.

He figured that she needed somebody to listen to her.

"Good luck." he whispered as he finally closed the bar for the day. He knew she'd need it.


	9. Emotionless

Okay, newest chapter. I wasn't as happy about this one as the previous one, but it's okay. It really gives way for the rest of the story to work out, plus I was tired of everyone being absolutely clueless.

Thanks for reading, review or not it doesn't matter, but thanks for stopping by anyway.

**Growing Pain**- Well you'll find out what happened with the guy. I really did want to make her character go as evil as I know she could. Mai is very extreme in everything she does, or at least that's my opinion. I thought that there were things she needed to say. . . so the bartender was a great way to get out what she needed to say. . . but it's a good sign . . . Anyway her love life. . . don't lose hope! Because as bad as it seems now . . . it's going to become a little bit worse before it gets better! I love your long review! It's always good when somebody can read something I wrote and they're interested about it!

**Miss Doma yuset**- Why thank you. You will find out what the timer is for soon! Yes Mai was backstabbing wasn't she? So was she evil but in character? I hoped so. She's drinking so much to get over the guilt and plus I always kind of imagined her having a glass of wine here or there. . . plus it was a good way to get some issues off of her chest, so to speak. You'll have to wait and see what Kaiba will do! And no, you are not making an idiot out of yourself, I love when people ask me questions but I can't give it all away!

**Disclaimer**: I don't own YGO or anyone the song lyrics I have posted throughout this story. I just thought I should add that.

"This place is so empty

My thoughts are so tempting

I don't know how it got so bad

Sometimes it's so crazy

That nothing can save me

But it's the only thing that I have

I tried to be perfect

It just wasn't worth it

Nothing could ever be so wrong

It's hard to believe me

It never gets easy

I guess I knew that all along" **Pieces - Sum 41**

Air rushed around his head and all the colors swirled into a single blur. The sound in his head was becoming a loud beeping noise and the voices of the others around him were becoming less and less audible.

He had found himself, like most others, in Yugi's living room at midnight surrounded by two members out of the group.

He was ready to speak, to tell them all he knew . . . but nothing would come out. It was if he was out of words. At this moment he just wanted to pass out.

"Duke, you okay buddy?" Joey asked from the couch. Unfortunately Duke was becoming lightheaded and couldn't really concentrate on his own thoughts let alone the questions of others. What Duke had just found out was . . . well it was crazy and something he thought he'd never have to address again.

"Uh . . . are you sure your fine?" piped in Yugi's voice. Duke was still unresponsive.

"Guys . . . I have to tell you something." Duke started, his voice was shaky and the friendly feeling that once filled the room was destroyed.

Suddenly Joey shushed him as the news became louder on the television.

"What's happening Joey?" Yugi asked. Joey shrugged.

The man on the television was talking about another man who was beat up in an alley. His name was Max . . . Joey and Yugi had been following the story throughout most of the day. After all Max was a KaibaCorp employee.

"He lived!" Joey explained . . . "But wait, he went into a state of shock . . . like a coma. He's not even trying to live. That's really weird Yug." he quickly added.

Yugi shook his head in agreement, "I guess that the incident was too much for him." he said darkly.

Duke watched them and took a deep breath. He had to tell them what he knew . . . and he couldn't back out. Opening his mouth, he was ready to talk.

* * *

Tossing and turning she finally threw the blankets on the floor in outright anger. Sweat was pouring down her face and her breathing became more radical.

Her hair was limp and hanging around her face and yet she had goose bumps up and down her arms.

It was rare that she was at her apartment, but she thought a good night sleep would do her good.

She didn't count on countless visions to haunt her through the night. Like others, her face had been glued to the television, following the story of Max.

Her words kept running through her head in an unstoppable manner and she couldn't stop listening to them.

She wanted to cry . . . to break down and finally let the facade of her life fall . . . but she couldn't. She had to be strong.

If she did fall, Valon would be right . . . and she couldn't have that now.

In fact she knew as soon as the vodka wore off the guilt would begin. She had been in that mess before.

"I stole their souls . . . why is this any different?" she whispered to herself as she threw her pillow across the couch and turned on the television.

"There isn't one . . . no not really." Mai argued with herself. Max, he was in a coma. It was just another word for soulless state . . . at least that's what it seemed like to her. He didn't want to live.

She could relate.

Mai wanted to call Valon. She wanted to talk to him for endless hours about how she messed up and how she wanted to make it better. She wanted to tell him how much better she was . . . but that dream was dead.

At the beginning, when she met up with Valon again . . . they never planned things to go this far. Then again who does really? Doesn't the world constantly spin out of control anyway?

No one person can possible predict the future.

"Except for that Ishizu chick." Mai added bitterly to her one-sided argument.

It seemed like each second took an hour to pass. The hand on the clock seemed frozen and it infuriated her more. She took the clock and threw it across the room so that it broke into hundreds of tiny glass pieces on the floor.

She took a deep breath and changed into some jeans and a black turtleneck. Not that it mattered, but she felt that maybe if she wore darker clothing that maybe she could blend it with everyone else. It would be like pretending she was a normal woman.

"Yeah right." she muttered as she put on her high black boots . . . ones she hadn't worn in years.

It was odd to her how something so old could still fit perfectly. They were stylish, comfy and she didn't have to wear them in.

She remembered that Valon hated her in jeans. Her mood lifted slightly by the ever so small rebellion.

Unfortunately she didn't have any idea where she was going, but she believed that she would end up somewhere.

* * *

Duke took a deep sigh. Yugi had left the room. He had to take an important phone call in another room.

"Well what is it that you wanted to tell us?" Joey asked, impatiently. Duke had been standing before them for the past half hour claiming he had some important information to tell them and he hadn't muttered a word since.

"I'll wait for Yugi." Duke replied too quickly as if he was scared. Joey sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Either you tell me now or you won't, I have to go meet Abby." Joey said as he glanced at his watch. He said he wouldn't be late again as he usually was.

Duke took another deep breath and shook his head.

"Okay, but you won't like it." he said softly.

He then went on to describe everything he had found out about Mai.

Joey sat on the couch, speechlessly. His thoughts were bouncing around in his head yet he could make none of them out.

Duke started at him intently.

"Joey?" he asked, somewhat confused by his reaction. Joey looked up from the floor with a mixed expression on his face.

"How long did you know?" he asked Duke, his voice hardly audible. Duke stood there speechlessly. He didn't answer.

Joey jumped off of the couch. "How long did you know?" he asked, yelling much louder. He grabbed Duke's shirt and pulled him off of the ground.

"Tonight . . . I put the pieces together tonight." Duke answered. Joey's eyes filled with terror and he dropped Duke onto the floor . . . not caring the slightest if he was hurt.

"But you suspected before . . . you had facts before, why didn't you tell anyone?" Joey yelled. His voice was quivering and he was trying to keep it under control.

"I . . . I don't know." Duke said sheepishly as he pushed himself off of the floor.

"That, that isn't her. It can't be her." Joey muttered.

"What do you mean?" Duke asked. Joey rolled his eyes.

"That, that is not the Mai we know. That is . . . " Joey muttered again. Duke rolled his eyes and punched his hand off of the table in frustration.

"Obviously she is Joey. She's changed . . . she's not going back to the Mai we knew. She chose to be evil again, she tried to kill a man . . . before she stole souls, it's the same thing. Joey that Max guy in the hospital is going to die and it is all her fault. This is Mai." Duke answered darkly. Joey looked away.

"No. . . it's not. Before she was under the control of that Dartz freak, and I know that there is good in her somewhere." he yelled in response.

"Joey. I would believe you if I could. In fact I did, but that was years ago . . . years . . . she could have been better . . . but she's not. And now she's trying to kill people . . . Joey there isn't anything good in her and I don't think there ever was." Duke screamed back, anger fueling his words. Joey didn't respond right away.

"You were her friend . . . you were the one who stuck up for her, saying that she's under pressure . . . saying she's adjusting . . . what changed?" Joey asked bitterly.

"The truth." was Duke's simple response.

"You don't know her Duke. You don't know the truth." Joey replied.

"I don't want to know the truth . . . besides you're the one who supposedly hates her Joey." he quickly responded. Joey rolled his eyes.

"I have to help her." Joey said quietly. Duke eyed him curiously.

"How?" Duke asked sarcastically. That only resulted in receiving a glare from Joey.

"I'll try to talk some sense into her." Joey said.

"Will that even work? She's dangerous and Joey I didn't tell you who she was with." Duke said. Joey shrugged.

"I don't care, I've got to get to her before Kaiba does." Joey muttered and he walked out the door, leaving Duke clueless and with a sore bottom.

Yugi stepped into the living room, "What was that all about?" he asked totally confused. Duke just sighed.

* * *

Kaiba had, for once in his life, had fallen into a sullen state. Nobody could get any audible answers from him and he was seemingly cut off from the world. In fact the last time he was like this was when he lost to Yugi for the very first time, but even then he still muttered a few audible words.

Then, he had a huge company to rub into Yugi's face. Right now though, he had nothing. The fact that he was still aloud to ride in his limo was surprising to him, after all, somebody else owned this limo now.

"Seto?" Mokuba asked. Kaiba ignored him again. His gaze was fixed upon the window. His computer was destroyed, everything was.

Somebody was out to get him, but he didn't know who. He didn't want to admit it, but he would need help.

"Take us to Yugi's." Kaiba instructed. The driver nodded and turned the limo around.

* * *

Mai somehow had found herself at some dance club surrounded by people and smoke. They were dancing around widely without a care in the world.

She remembered when she was like that . . .

It was long ago, when she was carefree.

Mai continuously took deep breaths and blinked, hoping that maybe should could wake from this awful dream.

She glanced around the room. Everyone was dressed in tight shirts and short skirts. Right now, she didn't fit in. She did have a few offers of dancing and drinks but she outright refused.

She didn't want to talk to anybody tonight. She was hoping that maybe she could blend in, unseen within the mass of people. She knew that one could be the loneliest within a sea of people.

The theory wasn't working. All she was feeling was pain . . . and she wanted it to go away.

Sighing and feeling desperate she picked up her jacket and walked out of the club, ignoring the stares she knew that were following her.

Her eyes were glued to the sidewalk and she didn't even see the person who happened to be frantically running toward her.

It resolved in a collision that knocked both of them over. Mai let out a curse word as she got up and brushed herself off.

She glared somewhat evilly at the person who had bumped into her. He was still lying on the ground.

"Mai." he called as he pushed himself up without any help from her. For some reason the night had become increasingly colder to him.

"Joey.'' she replied curtly.

"Mai . . . I know what you've been up too." he said, cutting to the chase. Mai shook her head and sighed.

"Sherlock give you the message? That's cute, gonna talk me out of it? Too late, it's all done." she explained as she started to walk away. Joey followed.

"It's not done. It's never done . . . you started down a path Mai." he said through large breaths. To his surprise she laughed.

"Come to help me out? Come to tell me how much you care? Go ahead . . . I would be listening, but I have other places to be with people who don't hate me." she snapped back as she walked away furiously.

"Mai . . . I just want to help, before Kaiba finds out." he said. Mai stopped walking and looked at him in amusement. But Joey could look deeper. He could read something else in her features, but if it was pain or anger he couldn't tell. He never could.

"Go ahead, tell on me. In fact, I'm giving you permission. Go on, go tell Kaiba and little Yugi and the nice police officers. Oh wait I can bribe them, so that won't do ya any good. You can't stop me Joey, and you wouldn't do it anyway." she answered as she walked off into the darkness of the city.

Joey stood in his spot stunned as memories rushed through his head. Memories that seemed too distant to recall but so clear at the same time. It was as if he had put so much time into forgetting them that digging them up actually hurt. It was de ja vu.

It was a crazy theory, but he would believe anything at this moment.

Somewhere deep inside of him told him to chase her and make her listen . . . but his brain strongly advised him against it. It was playing back the Dartz incident as if it was a bad movie.

Joey couldn't risk his life for her. He had Abby and Serenity to take of.

Yet he stayed glued to the spot.

Valon slowly emerged from the alleyway. He was on his way to dance off a little stress when he went to Mai's apartment. She wasn't there so he was going to this club on the south side.

He didn't count on seeing Joey trying to talk some sense into her. Immediately a read flag shot up in Valon's mind.

Joey could and would ruin their plan. Theirs . . . as in Mai and Valon 'in charge'. He was giving Mai what she needed, power and money. In his opinion she didn't need anything else. Mai always said that human emotions were petty and that was one thing Valon lo . . . liked a lot about her.

He saw that Joey hadn't moved and that Mai was walking at a quicker speed than normal.

"Mai." Valon called. Mai just turned toward him and gave him an odd expression. It seemed to be one of pain, anger and fear all mixed up underneath a confusing mask.

"Oh, have you come to uh talk some sense into me. I can take care of myself." she said automatically. Lately her defenses were always on high and she never let them down for anyone.

"Yeah, I have to talk to you. What did Joey say?" Valon asked. Mai smirked and gave a wicked laugh.

"How long have you been following me?" she asked. Valon shrugged.

"Just wanted to see if you'd tell me." was his curt response.

"I wouldn't have." she answered. Valon sighed.

"Mai, I don't know what it is about you, but . . . something has changed. Can you at least fill me in on what happened?" he pleaded, something unusual for him.

"Nothing . . . listen I'm just a little, well not nervous . . . but you know what I mean, right? Kaiba will be on to us and I'm guessing by tonight if he isn't already." she explained. Valon looked at her awkwardly.

"That didn't bother you before." Valon stated, his voice cold.

"Doesn't bother me now . . . but we can't keep doing it this way. We will be caught and punished. It would be the best course of action to lay low and pull away." she lied and Valon could tell.

"No. . .and don't think I don't know what it's about. You find out that guy died today didn't you?" Valon asked. Mai rolled her eyes and played with the top of her purse to keep the focus off of him.

"Yeah, it was on the news in the bar. He's dead, stopped breathing completely on purpose and not even his wife could snap him out of it." she explained, her voice sounded little almost childish to Valon's ears.

"You knew we had to do some big things for this to work." was his short answer. Mai glared at him.

"I did. I killed a guy. I took souls. I took money and power and the city is practically mine. The only thing we need is for Kaiba to sign everything else over and it will be ours. We've, I've come so far. But for what? I still feel nothing. There is nothing there anymore. The power was there for a while and the rage for sometime, but right now nothing. And I don't like it." she explained in a irritated whisper.

"What are you going to do about it?" Valon asked.

"I thought about jumping off a bridge, but decided against it." she replied sarcastically. Valon gazed at her for a moment.

Something was off about her, and he blamed Wheeler. Joey was good at shaking her up over things like this. If Joey hadn't found her, she would have been perfectly fine.

"Listen, nothing's going to happen. You are rich beyond your wildest dreams and you can't get in any trouble because now people know what will happen when they get in your way." Valon explained.

Mai took a deep breath. He just didn't understand it, then again why should he? He never understood her when it came to this type of thing.

She shook her head. He was right. Who could stop her now? She could handle them, just like Max . . . or Pegasus or the countless others that she went up against.

She had the power to make somebody else as miserable as she is. She could send everyone to their own personal Shadow Realm. The thought pleased her and sickened her at the same time. It was if the power got her high and she enjoyed it.

A smile crossed her face as the thoughts of her pain ran through her mind. The doubters, haters, they would know.

"Just me being silly." she said with a laugh. Valon smiled, he knew that sometimes Mai just needed a pep talk . . . but he wasn't always going to be around to make sure she got one.

The thoughts of failure flooded through his mind again.

"Mai. You need a vacation, why don't you go down to Mexico early and we'll clean up here." Valon suggested. Mai raised an eyebrow.

"I thought we were going together as in the same time?" she asked.

"Listen, you've been a little out of it lately . . . and that is something long sandy beaches and tons of money can take care of. I'll meet you down there." he explained.

Mai still seemed unconvinced.

"Fine. I'll go. It would be good to have someone down there to sort everything out. But I don't want anymore accidents or any kidnaping or anything like that. If you go against what I say, I can't be held responsible for my actions." Mai said in a harsh voice. Valon nodded.

"Nothing bad is going to happen. Go home get some rest, sign the papers from your company over to whoever and get on the plane and go. I promise my hands will be clean." Valon replied. Mai shrugged.

"There's gotta be some cute Mexican guys I can entertain myself within the meantime." Mai said with a smile on her face. Valon looked confused and almost considered backing out of that plan.

"I meant what I said." Mai added in a darker voice before walking away.

"Mexicans . . . I'm tan . . . "Valon muttered to himself, ignoring her threat.

* * *

The limo had pulled up along the side of Yugi's store. Duke who had fled after Joey didn't even bother to tell Yugi what was going on. Yet Kaiba's limo coming to a screeching halt alongside his home didn't even phase him.

Kaiba bursting into his house was something he was used to.

Kaiba muttering depressingly for Yugi to help him was the thing that surprised Yugi. Unlike anybody else, Yugi didn't rub it in his face. He did inwardly chuckle at the thought of Kaiba finally letting someone help him.

"I have an idea who it could be, but I to hack into their source and no money means no computer." he explained. Yugi nodded toward his computer. It was older than what Kaiba wanted, but it was a computer nonetheless.

"I have to get Mokuba." Kaiba said. He opened the door and saw that the streetlights were out and his limo was gone.

"Kaiba?" Yugi asked as he approached the man who was frozen in his doorway.

"He's gone." Kaiba spurted out. Suddenly his fists curled in anger and a cold expression took over his face. "I will find them and when I do . . . they'll pay." he managed to say. He then went over to Yugi's computer right away.

Luckily Mokuba had a tracking device lodged inside all of his clothes so that Kaiba could find him. Whoever did this would be sorry.

* * *

The night had ended and nobody could really say what transpired over the city. The situation seemed hopeless for everyone, except Valon who was actually congratulating himself over his small victory.

Mai on the other hand had a tremendous headache. She didn't remember a lot from the night before. Everything was fuzzy and after a while she stopped trying.

Leaving her television on, she walked out of her apartment with nothing but her purse.

She remembered something about going to Mexico, but she had been drunk at the time of the conversation.

It didn't matter anyway.

She wasn't feeling anything at the moment as she walked into her office. She saw that Jenny was eagerly awaiting her, perhaps too eager.

"Oh Miss Valentine, I have the papers for you to sign the company over. Valon called last night and said that you were going to work on your newest division." Jenny happily announced.

Mai stared at her for a moment. She didn't remember agreeing to this.

"Uh, I will . . . if you just leave me for a moment." Mai said. Jenny agreed and shut the door behind her.

Mai walked over to the window and watched the people on the streets. It was raining, only lightly. She didn't hear the quiet knock on the door while she was watching.

Without looking at anything but her desk, she opened the drawer and pulled out an old envelope.

It was crinkled and have some numbers on it because she didn't have a phone book at the time. She peeled back the flap and emptied the contents onto the desk.

It contained a simple picture of Joey, Serenity, Yugi and herself. She didn't remember when or why the picture was taking. Yet they were smiling, happy about something.

Mai didn't remember being happy.

Besides the picture were some cards. They were older and the flaps were bent just a little. The color was slightly faded on each one.

To anybody else, they just looked like some old cards with weird pictures on them. To Mai they were something else.

They were her dueling deck. The source of all her power. They were the source of her happiness, pain, passion, and at one point her life.

Now they were just cards.

She put them in her purse without knowing why.

She glanced at the picture.

"It's too late for that." she said wickedly, yet sadly. She pulled out a lighter and lite the picture until in burned to black ashes that laid on the table. She thought about blowing them away, letting the memories be freed from her mind, but she just let them there.

Upon exited her office she saw Jenny and Serenity talking about something important to them. Mai approached and pulled a pen from her purse.

"Mai, I'm so sad that you're leaving. When are you coming back?" Serenity asked, her voice full of regrets.

Regrets of missed opportunities. Mai was her role model . . . almost her sister. At one point they were close, but lately it seemed that Mai had been distancing herself.

"I don't know." Mai answered, avoiding the young girls eyes. She knew if she looked at them all would be lost and she would brake down right there.

"You never come around anymore." Serenity whined. Mai shrugged.

"It's for the best believe me. You don't want to be anything like me." she said as she dropped the pen on the desk.

Serenity watched her go with a feeling of sadness and anger. Anger at Mai for not even acting like she cared, when it was obvious that she must. Right?

* * *

The airport was dingy, and the lines were unbelievably long. The televisions blared for the people unfortunate enough to wait on delays.

Mai ignored them as she waited in line to give the woman her ticket.

She got away with it. She was really going to paradise, with somebody that cared about her, someone who wouldn't betray her. . . .

"In today's news, Mokuba Kaiba, younger brother of the once rich Seto Kaiba was kidnaped today. He is being held ransom by some unknown figure. Seto has also been in the news of late after the destruction of his empire. . . . " the newswoman reported on the tv.

People in the line started talked in such a fashion that the airport was filled with noise.

Mai was sure she was going to pass out.

He betrayed her . . . after everything he said, he did . . .

"He was in it for himself." she whispered to no one. Thoughts in her head started to spin rapidly. She killed for him . . . had people hurt for him . . . destroyed lives and stole for him . . . and he was just going to let her escape.

He was going to let her go off without him.

Memories started running through her head in a steady motion, Max' face, Joey's words, Kaiba's 'lunches', Serenity's eyes, Yugi's advice . . . Dartz's voice . . . her soul being sucked out of her body, Valon's soul being suck out of his . . . Joey falling to the ground . . . giving up his existence for her.

She was running away again from her problems. Again, like always.

There was no way she could leave Valon . . . he had control over her, she didn't know how but he did.

She remembered Kaiba calling her weak and she agrees at this point.

The room started to become dizzy as she took a deep breath.

She was becoming numb, emotionless.

Her feet were leading her away from the line and toward the doors.

She had to find out the truth.


	10. Lies

Quick post huh? I wanted this chapter to be more discrpitive than it is, but overall I'm happy with it. After all desribing every little thing isn't that important is it? I don't know, I might just revise it sometime, but for right now I'm satisfied . . . which is always a watch-out sign for my readers. Oh there's a sware word in here, not that it matters, but it's a heads up.

**Growing Pain**- Yeah, I am usual hard on myself, but I've always been like that. I also love to read more of the darker realistic stuff because nobody is sweet all of the time. Life is hard, so I like to portray it. I always found writing about Mai a great way to do that. I like her being evil and expressing herself. Huh, maybe I shouldn't, but I tend to like the evil type characters more. I dunno, if it's a good show then they usually have a great backstory. I also like to follow evil characters through redemption (hint, hint) Anywho, I'm babbling, which I have a tendecny to do. I was glad I could fit my little Mexican joke in there somewhere. . . it briefened the mood at least for a second. More reviews would be cool, but as long as somebody is ready the story, I'm happy! Oh and I can tell you, Mai will not end up with Mokuba. . . but that is a very unique idea . . . but it's not for me. In fact I've never read a Mokuba/ Mai fic. It would be pretty funny though. But I'm glad she's in character. My biggest fear is that Abby and James would seem to Mary Sue-ish . . . but I couldn't think of any characters I could use so I had to make something up! lol, thanks for your review, I'm glad it was long.

**5animefan**- Thanks, I like to keep the suspense going, keeps it interesting.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own YGO. Or the quotes or songs I put before the chappie, they inspired me and certain parts of them reflect the chapters, they usually do though.

"Sometimes I feel the fear of uncertainty stinging clear  
And I cant help but ask myself, how much I'll let the fear take the wheel and steer  
It's driven me before, it seems to have a vague  
Haunting mass appeal" **Drive-Incubus**

"You're getting closer to pushing me  
Off of life's little edge  
Cause I'm a loser  
And sooner or later  
You know I'll be dead  
You're getting closer,  
You're holding the rope,  
I'm taking the fall  
Cause I'm a loser, I'm a loser, yeah  
This is getting old,  
I can't break these chains that I hold  
My body's growing cold,  
There's nothin left of this mind Or my soul" **Loser- 3 Doors Down**

"If you don't expect too much from me  
You might not be let down" **Hey Jealousy- Gin Blossoms**

Kaiba had been typing relentlessly at the computer for hours. Well, it seemed like hours, but realistically it had only been one. It did take a long time for the computer to start up and twice as long to connect to the internet.

When he finally tracked down Mokuba, the computer crashed on impact and he lost all of the information. He wasn't even given a second to look at it.

"I hate this computer." he shouted miserably. Yugi only sighed, maybe he should have purchased a new one sooner than he planned. Then again, who would have predicted this mishap.

Due to history, Yugi should have, so he sat on the couch helplessly listen to Kaiba complain.

Yugi had nothing to do. He was sure if he stood over Kaiba's shoulder, Kaiba would just snap. He had no idea where Duke was, or Joey for that matter. He didn't know how much Tea, Tristan, Abby or Serenity knew.

All Yugi knew was that he heard Mai's name mentioned.

He figured that it wasn't a good sign.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Kaiba shouted from the corner. Yugi immediately jumped up from the couch and glanced at the chair Kaiba pushed over.

Kaiba must have jumped up too.

"What?" Yugi asked nervously. Kaiba didn't answer, he only shook his head in disbelief.

"Kaiba, what is it?" he asked again.

"His chip was disassembled. I'm not even getting a signal. If your computer was faster, I would have been on my way much sooner.'' he grumbled.

"Sorry about that." Yugi added, in what he hoped was sympathetic. Although, he didn't see how Kaiba could blame him when he was just trying to help.

"I just, I'll trace back where the virus came back from . . . but I've got to break into my own system first." Kaiba mentioned.

Yugi watched him curiously. Kaiba, who was know standing, was typing so fast that Yugi thought his keyboard would be on fire.

"I wonder where Joey is." Yugi whispered somewhat curiously to himself.

"Who cares, knowing the mutt he's off chasing some . . . " Kaiba started to say, but then stopped completely. He turned his head toward Yugi and he threw the keyboard on the ground before stomping out of Yugi's store.

Yugi was confused.

"Kaiba?" he called as Kaiba started walking away. Kaiba didn't hear him and only continued walking. What Yugi didn't know was that Kaiba had an idea of who was doing this to him. Yugi only grabbed his coat and chased after him.

* * *

She took a deep breath. She knew that Valon was up to something, what exactly she didn't know. She turned on the ignition and drove out the parking lot faster than she drove in it.

* * *

"Valon." James called. They, amongst others (and a hostage) had found themselves in a new secret area. In it was a huge computer. On the said computer was a map with a blinking red dot. It was moving from the parking lot toward what looked like the main city.

"No, what is she doing?" Valon asked to himself. Again he thought of failure, of everything they worked for, of their new splendid life together. Yet there she was messing it up.

"I'm not sure." said a busy worker as he tried to zoom in on the map.

"No, we'll use plan B. Send in the squad, the one that looks like it's Kaiba's. She doesn't need to get in trouble over this. Stupid . . . I told her to go to Mexico, trust me after this she'll be on that plane faster than you can say Holla." Valon instructed.

People quickly got to work on making phone calls and such things.

They heard a muffled yelled from a boy who had been gagged and tied in a corner. His hair was muffled and his face was one of disgust. He had been in this situation countless times.

At least this time he wasn't thrown in a cellar . . . or dreaming about floating in darkness. Well at least not yet anyway.

"Oh, Mokuba is it? This isn't against you or anything, so just calm down." Valon said in a careless manner. It seemed that all the power had gone to his head.

* * *

Mai speed as fast as she could down the highway. Her radio was unusually silent as she was more concerned over the previous events.

Not only had Valon betrayed her, but she had fallen for his act again. The same act that drew her in the first time.

Mai remembered when they met up again.

_She had left his beach side retreat in search of a better life, one that never muttered the words San Francisco. _

_It was her new beginning, her chance of wealth and independence. Her chance to show everyone what she could make out of herself. _

_It just so happened to be a rainy day in New York City. But the rain didn't bring her down, no it refreshed her. _

_Her modeling company had just offered her a promotion as a top model.  
__  
The top model was the one on the covers, the one who went to the fashion shows and big parties. _

_It was as if she was floating on air. She hadn't dueled for quite sometime and she was pleasantly surprised on how well she was succeeding without it. _

_As mentioned, it was raining . . . and she was becoming terribly wet outside. Like most, she was trying to walk more . . . after all being fit was an important part to being a model. So she decided that that day would be the day she would walk from place to place instead of driving._

_She shook her head at her idea and walked into the first restaurant she saw. _

_"Just my luck.'' she whispered to herself as she tried to ring the water out of her hair. _

_She noticed that she had entered a small Italian place, which somewhat raised her mood, as she loved Italian food. _

_Of course, she was still happy, just wet. _

_Upon entering she went to the bathroom even before reserving a table. She tried to make her hair do something instead of hang limply, but nothing was working. _

_She hated when her long curly locks went straight. The reflection in the mirror didn't even look like her. She wiped off her previous makeup and reapplied it. After all, a model has to look good. _

_Unfortunately she didn't carry a portable hair dryer. _

_Rolling her eyes in disgust, she got a table. _

A salad would definitely cheer up her mood.

_That and a bottle of water. She didn't drink pop because of the hidden calories, and she didn't drink alcohol because of bad memories. Water was the only other thing she could tolerate, as long as it was lemon flavored._

_She quickly ordered from the homely waiter and waited patiently.  
__  
It was odd, her sitting by herself. She had become accustomed to eating with someone else. She had associates and had been on a few dates of course, but she didn't have any real friends.  
__  
Sighing she checked her cell phone for any missed messages. She had several but decided to ignore them. She noticed that the restaurant was full and there weren't any tables left. At least she was lucky enough to get a table. _

_She faintly heard somebody complaining about not having a table and she was secretly glad it wasn't her. _

_At least everyone else was wet though. _

_Her drink arrived and she sighed in boredom. _

_She could return her messages, but dealing with her boss just wasn't in her. She didn't want her happiness spoiled. _

_Suddenly the hostess approached her._

_"Miss, I have somebody else dining by themselves and I wonder if they could sit at this table with you." she inquired in such a soft voice that Mai would have a hard time telling her no. _

_Mai sighed, rolled her eyes and approved, though she didn't plan on talking to the mystery person. _

_She was looking through the dessert menu or the 'I can't eat anything on it menu' when the other person arrived.  
__  
He sat across from her quietly in awe.  
__  
She didn't look up. Her plan was to ignore the person altogether, after all it was an awkward situation for her. _

_Mai knew at some point she would have to look up from the menu though and she did so grudgingly. _

_Her eyes met his face and she was frozen. She couldn't even thank the waiter when he gave her salad and took his order. _

_He seemed fine with the situation. She shook her head for a few moments, hoping that she was hallucinating. _

_"I saw . . . " he tried to say, but she stopped him by saying, "Don't talk to me." _

_It was quickly followed by her saying, " What are you doing here?"  
__  
He laughed at her question, and she glared. _

_"I was on my lunch break." he answered simply._

_"You work in NYC?" Mai asked, unsure of the coincidence._

_"No, but I was sent over here by my investing company to the NYC branch. I'll only be here for a few days." he answered. Mai nodded._

_"Investing huh? Didn't expect that . . . never saw you as a business suit type guy. . . maybe a taking over the world duelist guy. . . or a motorcycle repair man." she observed. He shrugged._

_"I don't like to get my hands dirty." was his simple response. Mai raised an eyebrow, this didn't sound like the man she once knew. _

_"I did expect seeing you as a model, that didn't surprise me." he said openly. There was no doubt in his mind that Mai was not ugly. She was gorgeous to him. _

_"Listen, Valon . . . I can't do this talking thing with you right now." she said as she leaned against her seat. He only watched her with a knowing expression.  
__  
"I figured from all the phone calls." he responded, sounding the least bit angry. _

_"Are you better?" she asked as she absentmindedly played with the latch on her purse. No matter how much she opened and closed it, the fact that it was magnetic amused her and took the focus off the issue at hand.  
__  
"Mostly, I'll be honest though. I still dream about it, but Raphael will listen to me babble on for a while." he answered. That caught Mai's attention._

_"You still talk to him?" she asked in a small whisper. Why wasn't she informed of the little group get together . . . why was she in NYC suffering alone because of what she did._

_"Yeah. We figured that you would have been talking to Wheeler and such, well he figured, I knew better." Valon explained, his voice sounding fairly pleasant to Mai's ears. At least somebody thought of her._

_"Then why . . . never mind. It's not important." she said to herself mostly, but Valon hung on every word._

_"But how are things for you, really?" he asked, trying to get as much insight as he could. She shrugged._

_"Well there are the dreams, of course. I mean you have them too . . . but mostly better. I mean I model . . . I've been to court over harassment of course because everybody wants to sleep with me . . . my ex-boss that is. Um, other than that, everything is . . . good." she explained in a dull tone._

_"Doesn't sound so good." Valon observed. Mai laughed bitterly._

_"So says Mister Perfect." was her sarcastic remark._

_"Never claimed that. Just trying to help." he replied. _

_"That doesn't lead to good." she answered. His eyes suddenly became clouded as he watched her mope. He felt there was something she wasn't telling him and there probably was. She was never outright with her feelings, yet she was just about the most outspoken person other than himself that he knew. _

_"It can." he said, throwing the phrase out there to see if she would pick up on it. _

_"Oh really, how?" she asked, picking it up. Valon smiled. It was as if she was the only fish in a huge ocean and threw in the juiciest worm he had. Why wouldn't she pick it up?_

_"Easy you become owner of said company, no more harassment . . . just money, and the one thing you always wanted, power. And I can help you." he said, leaning back smiling. _

_Mai glared at him._

_"Shut up Valon, I don't want to hear any more of your crazy ideas." she said, throwing her hands in the air. _

_"Yes, you will." he answered. Mai bit her lip and stood up shaking her head. She hurriedly walked out of the restaurant, leaving Valon to pay for the meal she didn't touch. He did, knowing that she would have to come back to him eventually._

_He was right, the words stuck in her head a little more each day. _

_Especially when she heard things like, "Make that skirt shorter, no . . . no. . . bend down more."_

_She would then return home and listen to the television talk about the 'great Kaiba and Yugi rivalry'. As if that was the highlight to her day. _

_Returning to an empty apartment also brought her down. _

_It was as if each day she was becoming lonelier and lonelier. Sometimes she would wonder, " What would Valon say to that?" _

_She found herself calling him, and it started out simple enough. They talked. She worked. They went out to dinner. She rose in her company. He encouraged her ideas, and she went through with them._

_She really did do everything by herself, but he was there to support her. He was there to listen to her._

_Shortly after he moved in and permanently worked in the NYC branch. She traveled. _

_He cooked her dinner, she'd do his laundry. _

_It was the closest to normal than the two ever had, or ever would._

But now, she realized that he was in it for himself. Unlike her, he never got off of the power high. She did, and he reintroduced her to it.

Mai had been driving faster than before and was slightly annoyed with the helicopter noise she heard.

It was odd how it seemed to be following her for the past mile.

She noticed how three black cars, one in front, in back, and one beside her also had been with her for the past mile.

It was when the black car in front of her slammed on his brake when she figured somebody was following her.

She almost hit it, but pulled out of the way. She could have sworn she saw small sparks as she scratched the car beside her. She was desperately trying to push it out of the way with her car, and it was working. Luckily it made a gap big enough for her car to fit through.

She could feel the wind coming through the windows from the helicopter as she drove on. The other three cars were right behind her, traveling faster than before. Suddenly Mai heard a loud noise and the pressure of the wind became larger. The helicopter skimmed the top of her car, and she was sure of the sparks that were there.

She could feel the wait of the helicopter pushing down on top of her car and she could see it making dents. Afraid for her own safety she leaned into the seat just as the space above her head started to crash down.

One of the cars behind her somehow caught up. It slammed into her bender with so much force it actually pushed the car farther. She was amazed that the car didn't get stuck as her body banged up against the steering wheel. Mai could feel the rim of the wheel push into her chest and her breath becoming short.

Mai wouldn't give up though. She kept speeding away. She constantly tossed her head to the side, looking behind her for the cars. Luckily her inside mirror still worked. Somehow through the incident, her side mirror fell off. She guessed it was when she tried to make that previous small gap.

Taking deep breaths, she drove in a zigzag pattern and tried to avoid all of them.

One car almost was at her side, but she cut it off. Unfortunately the small bump to her back was all her car needed to lose its fender.

She thought a fender on an already traveled highway would at slow them down, but it didn't.

Out of the corner of her eye, Mai saw a semi in the approaching lane. It wouldn't approach her for some time though.

The chase continued, sometimes the cars were able to bump hers. With each bump, she flew forward in her seat, bumping the steering wheel. Suddenly she heard a shooting noise. Looking up from her windshield, she saw a bullet coming from the helicopter.

As she leaned back into her seat, the bullet came right through the window. Glass shattered everywhere, and she was covered in it. Another bullet came through her back window, and more glass covered her.

Using what was left of her mind, she pulled on her wheel to the right, making the car move over into the oncoming lane. The other cars followed her, as it was their mission.

With her last bit of strength she put all of her weight on the gas and just missed the semi that was trying to swerve out of the way.

As planned, the other cars didn't. The back of the semi hit each of the cars, colliding them into each other, causing a huge explosion. The semi happened to be carrying gasoline.

Mai's car was floating in air and with her last bit of strength she pushed her door open and fell out onto the wooded area below her. Her car sailed through the air and crashed directly into a tree, causing it to fall over.

A small fire grew from all of the cars, and Mai doubted the lives of any of the drivers. She could make out a small KC logo from one of them as it slowly burned. The smell of gasoline and rotting flesh came to her nose and she automatically threw up.

How she was even standing up amazed her. She was leaning against a tree, but she had landed on some very hard sticks and rocks. She was bruised all over, but she couldn't tell. It was if she was leaking blood. For some time she watched it drip from her head until it made a small puddle in the ground.

She watched the fire grow from the remains of the accident, but she could hardly see anything else through the fog of smoke that the fire had made.

The smoke was pushing itself down her throat and filling her lungs. Breathing was becoming harder and harder. Mai could feel herself beginning to pass out and it was strangest sensation.

She pushed herself up against the tree again. All she could feel was the hard texture of the bark and she wouldn't let go of that feeling.

She did see the helicopter being blown away from the impact of the crash. She figured that everyone must have been going at least 120 mph, if not that, more.

Everything was becoming fuzzy and she saw double of everything. The air around her became more humid and hazy. The scene swirled around in her head and it was taking all of the strength she had to be stable.

The last thing she saw was a person walking toward her, but she wouldn't be surprised it that was a hallucination.

Suddenly everything went dark and she experienced a new pain, one she hadn't felt before. It wasn't mental or emotional, it was physical . . . and her breathing became slower.

Mai could feel herself falling to the ground. Trying to ready herself for the impact she closed her eyes and let herself go.

* * *

"Over here." a not to distant voice called. It belonged to man and he was quickly walking toward where Mai had fallen.

His face fell as he saw the remains of the car and the broken woman that laid not even 20 feet away.

His accomplis, had disappeared, but he was somewhat glad. He didn't want him here right now anyway.

He walked over to Mai and kneeled down to her level.

"Mai, c'mon wake up." he gently instructed. He rolled her over so that she was facing front wards. The sight sickened him.

She was covered in blood and marks and dirt on top of it all. Her mascara mixed in with the mess on her face.

Her body was cover in the mixture, not to mention the other various bruises he was positive she had.

"C'mon, get up." he pleaded. She just laid there. Taking a deep breath, he grabbed her arm.

"I'm going to help you Mai." he said. He held her wrist, luckily she still had a pulse. The thought cheered him up immensely.

Upon feeling her wrist moving without her own consent, she tried to do something else. Mai desperately wanted to open her eyes, jump off, brush herself off and continue her journey. Yet all she could do was lie there.

Suddenly she made a very small coughing noise. The smoke had become thicker, and breathing was still difficult.

She could feel herself being pulled up.

Using what strength she had, she opened her eyes. They automatically met honey- brown ones.

"Joey?" she asked meekly.

"Yeah, I'm going to help you." he responded in his most gentle voice. Full of anger, she pushed herself away from him and fell against the remnants of her car.

"No . . . " she whispered. Joey rolled his eyes.

"I need to help you, quit being so stubborn." he said. Finding her out her like he did scared him. The thought of her becoming worse was something he wouldn't let come true.

"I have to find Kaiba." she said through heavy pants. Everything kept spinning around her and she couldn't see where Joey was. She didn't even know if he was really there.

"Not like this, I won't let you." he said. She rolled her eyes, sure she was talking to herself.

"Shut up." she muttered. She could feel something else now. It was rain, cold and somewhat refreshing.

When she was a child, she loved playing in the rain for hours and hours, but not anymore. It was only fitting that the one thing she loved from being a child would wash away her bloodstains, her memories.

"You need to go to a hospital." Joey replied. Mai didn't hear him though, she was in-between trying to hold on and pass out. She didn't know if the gray in front of her was from the smoke or her mind.

"C'mon Mai." Joey said, his voice changing from brokenhearted to cold, hoping that reverse psychology would work.

She just stayed on the ground, letting his voice drift into one ear and out of the other. Breathing was becoming a difficult task, as she had to force herself to do it.

"I don't know what happened . . . "she whispered mostly to herself.

"You went to far . . . and then you tried to backed out . . . that's what." Joey replied in an angry manner. Mai shook her head, ignoring him entirely. She was sure that she was making him up. After all, why would he keep coming back to save her. She wasn't worth it.

"I don't know how I ended up this way. . .I don't know what happened to me. . . " she muttered entirely to herself. Joey sighed. She wasn't even listening to him and the way she was acting was frightening him just a little bit.

"Snap out of it." Joey exclaimed, hoping his cold voice would awaken her like her cold voice awakened him.

"I can't. . . "she whispered so low that Joey could barely hear it. He studied her for a moment.

She was a total wreck, and he was sure that she was losing blood at a rapid speed.

Joey kneeled down to her level.

"You have to." he told her.

"How? How do you keep going when . . . when you don't have a purpose . . . this world, everything in it is so hard. I've spent so much time hiding from the pain and being somebody I'm not . . . and see where it got me . . . why . . . I'm so alone . . . I don't want too keep going, it's not worth it." Mai whispered. Her voice was quivering and a tear fell from her eye down to the mess that was her body.

"You keep going for the people that love you . . . because it's the right thing to do. Life is hard, I get that . . . but you've beaten this before and you can do it again." Joey replied sadly, hoping something, anything would let him help her.

"This power and this rage . . . I can't do it Joey . . . I tried, I'm not strong enough. There isn't time to save me." Mai whimpered, her breaths becoming shorter.

"I don't know what happened between us Mai . . . and sometimes I wonder. And I admit I lose sleep over it . . . but this thing . . . it's bigger than both of us . . . you want to know how to keep going? You have to have faith that everything will work out. You used to be able to that . . . I guess you lost that along the way." Joey said. He waited for a response, but none came.

Suddenly he heard a ringing noise from out of nowhere. Peaking out of Mai's pocket was her cellphone. Miraculously it wasn't hurt at all.

Joey was tempted to answer but he let it go. A few seconds later it started to ring again.

Mai grabbed it and answered it.

"Mai, where are you what happened? I heard that your flight was delayed." a voice lied through the other side of the phone. A sick smile crossed her face. Joey stared at her curiously. He was amazed at how she was even able to hold the phone.

"It was Kaiba . . . " she said. Joey didn't know who she was talking too and concluded that she was in a delusional state of mind.

"Kaiba's uh . . . cars that did . . . '' she started to say, but couldn't continue. The voice on the other end was shouting her name.

"He knows." Joey whispered.

"I didn't . . . " Mai started to say, but didn't finish. Joey patiently waited for her to continue, but her voice was quivering now from the cold rain.

"You bastard." she said. Joey thought she was talking to him, but she continued.

"You betrayed me . . . I trusted you . . . well I quit . . . I quit your stupid takeover . . . I quit you . . ." she mumbled.

"Mai?" Joey asked. Suddenly she threw the cell phone as far as she could, which wasn't very far.

She took a deep gulp. Tears were rolling down her eyes and she was frozen to the spot.

"I lied." she said, her tears falling more freely than before.

"I need help, and now would be good." she whispered slowly as she passed out. Joey gave a small smile as he picked her up in his arms.

He heard someone distantly shouting Mai's name. Glancing down at the cell phone he noticed the caller id said Valon. With much anger he stepped on the phone until it broke in half.

He was drenched in rain when he finally met up with Duke.

Joey was now covered in dirt and blood from Mai, but the tears on his face were definitely his own.

"Hospital." was the only word that came from his mouth, but Duke understood.

They jumped in his car and laid Mai in the backseat.

"Kaiba found out." Joey said emotionlessly. Duke sat silently for a while, letting the image of Joey and Mai freeze in his mind. He couldn't picture Kaiba physically doing that to her.

"He did that?" Duke asked, somewhat sceptic.

"She knew, and she was still going to help him . . . I don't think she meant for anything to happen to Mokuba." Joey deducted.

"How do you know?" Duke asked. Joey shrugged and glanced out the window. He was also silent, thoughts running through his head, but there was one in particular.

"You knew about Valon didn't you?" Joey asked. Duke nodded.

Joey ran his hand threw his hair and punched the side of the car. Duke bit his lip and drove more quickly than ever.

* * *

Valon leaned against the wall. Tears were streaming down his check. He heard Joey in the background. He lost her.

He didn't mean for that to happen. He just wanted her scared, not killed.

But what did it matter, she didn't need him or want him. She was over him.

Because of Wheeler.

He punched the wall, causing his knuckles to bleed. On top of that, the wall had a gaping hole in it.

He would teach them both, he was better than Wheeler, he was better than Kaiba.

He had the power.


	11. Do What You Have To

**Growing Pain**- Why thank you. The whole car scene was my lame attempt at writing action, I never tried it before. I was disappointed over how it came out, so it wasn't just you. Although you'll have to wait a little bit to see what Valon does next because this chapter doesn't have him doing anything. Yeah, I think I rushed too much so there were errors, but it happens. We all make mistakes, right? Lol! Yeah Mokuba is a pro, he should teach a class, 10 things to do when your held against your will, or something along those lines. To answer your question, this wouldn't work without Mai unless I took it in an entirely different direction, but I'm not so ya for Mai.

**5animefan**- I agree, Mai is a character that you can do so much with, that's why I love to write about her. Realistically, she could end up with anyone. Thanks for the compliments.

Disclaimer: YGO is owned by someone somewhere who is not me. I know, I'm upset about it too. LOL. Oh and I don't own the little song things I usually start off the chapters with.

"All my work and endless measures  
Never seem to get me very far  
Walk a mile just to move an inch  
Now even though I'm trying so damn hard  
I'm trying so hard  
This world can turn me down but I  
Won't turn away  
And I won't duck and run, cause  
I'm not built that way  
When everything is gone there is  
Nothing there to fear  
This world cannot bring me down  
No cause I'm already here, oh no!"- **Duck and Run, 3 Doors Down**

Machines beeped continuously. People in white suits, and some in blue, dashed around the room in a fast paced manner. He could hear somebody beside him crying. He could hear the other person sitting by him muttering.

None of it mattered to him though at this point.

Because her blood was still on his hands.

"I hate you." he heard the words in his head again for the hundredth time since the drive to the hospital. His insensitivity was her downfall, again.

Not that he could change that now. He couldn't. She was still in there, suffering. Mokuba was gone, Kaiba had apparently gone crazy and Valon . . .

He can feel his hands close into fists voluntarily. His short nails dug into his palm and he knew that it would leave a mark, but he needed to do something to release the pressure. He thought that guy had a chance, maybe that Valon could redeem himself.

Yet the fact that he didn't wasn't a surprise.

Everything around him was blurry and bright. He couldn't focus and the past few hours seemed to have taken centuries. He didn't even remember what time he arrived here and he didn't know what time it was now.

Slowly, he was coming back to reality to discover that he was in a hospital, apparently in a waiting room. He hated hospitals, almost as much as he hated the off-colored blue chairs that were displayed in them. They look comfortable, but they aren't. It's like the hospital tried to fool people.

That, unfortunately, wasn't his biggest concern though. He's just looking for something, anything to get rid of those feelings that are taking over his body.

Grief, guilt, anger, pain, friendship . . . everything he's ever felt all rolled up into one tiny ball seemed to be stuck in his throat. It was hard to describe and he felt that if he tried he would have chocked on them and fallen onto the floor.

At least the tears stopped, but that was probably because Serenity was here. He was always one for putting on a mask. Everyone thought they knew what he was feeling, but nobody could even understand the intensity of it. Just knowing he could have prevented this . . . nobody else would ever understand.

"Joey." Serenity said in a quiet voice. It was the first word she had spoken since Duke brought her here. She requested it when Joey phoned home, but she wasn't prepared for it. So she, like the rest, just sat in silence until she couldn't bare it anymore. He finally looked up from his musings.

"Huh?" he asked.

"Um, maybe you should go wash up." she said. The sight before her made her stomach ache. She was sitting by her brother and the blood on his shirt sickly fascinated her. It belonged to the woman who was her role model so long ago. Serenity knew something happened in between all of those years, something had obviously changed in all of them. Yet right now, sitting next to her stained brother, she wondered if maybe she changed too. She reached down to grab his hand, to try and give him the support he always gave her.

Joey glanced down at himself. Laughing bitterly to himself, he knew it would never come off.

Sure he could wash it off, but in the middle of the night the spots would still be there. He would also see them, feel them. He would always hear the ranting and rambling that made no sense and yet so much sense at the same time. Joey felt that the burning smell would always be stuck in his nostrils.

Joey decided to burn the shirt when he got home.

"Excuse me, are you family of Mai Valentine?" a woman asked while she approached the group. She was wearing an off-blue colored nurses outfit. Joey rolled his eyes at it.

"Yeah." Serenity answered, because she felt it. She didn't know how everyone else felt, but Mai was like family to her no matter how she changed.

"You can go see her if you'd like." the nurse said. Joey nodded, but walked toward the bathroom to wash himself up a little bit.

Serenity decided to wait for her brother, for she felt that she couldn't emotionally handle walking into the room by herself.

That left Duke standing in the doorway glaring down at the pale woman in the bed. He walked across the tile floor that they all had seen so many times for so many different reasons.

Pulling up a chair, he sat down and looked at her for a moment.

She lazily opened one eye and looked at him. A small sigh escaped her lips. Luckily the accident wasn't life-threatening, but she was still weak. After all, it was still a bad accident and one doesn't usually bounce back from it right away.

"Go ahead." she whispered. Duke looked at her confused for a moment.

"Well tell me." she demanded. Her voice was hoarse, but both eyes were closed now. Duke was convinced that she was sleeping and talking to somebody in her dreams, but he decided to answer nevertheless.

"Tell you what?" he asked rather softly. Everyone knew that he was no longer on her side, if he ever really was. Now though, she seemed like a totally different woman than he previously knew. This wasn't the woman who drove them all at record speed to find Joey for Serenity. This wasn't the woman who tried to help Joey through his duel with Odion. As she was lying there, she didn't even look like the woman who had tried to steal Joey's soul.

She looked broken, like a shadow of the person she once was. Duke wasn't even sure if she knew who she was anymore, nobody else did.

Her eyes fluttered for a second at his response. She took a deep breath before considering her answer.

"I deserve it." she said, emotionlessly. Duke stared at her for a while. He didn't know how to respond, or what to say.

"You can't say it . . . but we know." Mai added. She was shaking slightly now, but sounded resolved in the matter. Duke didn't know what to think. The incident was karmic, but he didn't think she deserved it.

Luckily, Serenity and Joey had entered the room to save him from any more conversing. Looking down at the ground, Duke left. He couldn't handle being in the same room with her. Duke wondered if she'd ever discover who she really was as he walked out the door. He had to tell Abby what happened.

Serenity took his seat and Joey just stood beside her. He placed his hands in his pockets and shifted back and forth on his feet. He couldn't handle this type of thing. He could jump in front of ancient gods but he couldn't handle being in the hospital.

He knew Mai hated the off blue color that surrounded them too.

"It's like back in the day . . . only without the evil soul-stealing freak . . . wait, I guess that's me." she whispered bitterly in between coughs. Her eyes were open now, but she wasn't looking at them.

Not yet, Mai couldn't look at them yet. Instead her gaze was fixed toward a crack that happened to be on the nearby wall.

Joey couldn't answer her either. He, like Duke, didn't know what to say or where to begin. He felt that if he started that he wouldn't be able to stop.

"It is like de ja vu." Serenity spurted out. Mai and Joey both looked at her.

"How long have I been here?" Mai asked.

"A while, almost the whole day actually." Serenity answered. Mai nodded, but didn't really pay attention. Her mind was focused on one thing, but at this moment there wasn't anything she could do about it.

"Um, what did they say, the doctors?" Mai asked. The silence that filled the room seemed to seep up the air so that staying quiet was making it impossible to breathe. Honestly, all she wanted to do was sleep. Her life wasn't so messed up then, she wasn't so messed up then.

"You'll be okay. It wasn't life threatening. Um, they'll probably give you some medication, but they gave you x-rays and stuff earlier." Serenity explained, trying to sound thorough but failing at it.

"We called Yugi, but he wasn't home." Serenity said, also feeling the awkwardness of the room.

"Yeah, he's probably busy." Mai concluded as she took a deep sigh. Somewhere, deep down, she knew she could never be ok.

* * *

"Kaiba? Have you found anything?" Yugi asked as they drove down the highway faster than Yugi would have dared.

Kaiba nodded vigorously. He knew about the accident, after all, it was all over the news. The road had been cleared, but the guard rail wasn't fixed yet.

They pulled over to the side of the road and it was sheer luck that Yugi had a car. Sure it was a Volkswagen Beetle, but it was still a good vehicle. He liked the fact that after such a hectic life, he could be almost invisible to anybody around him. Yugi could never see Kaiba or Mai in such a car though.

They got out and started to descend into the forest.

"Where are we going?" Yugi asked. He wanted to know. After all, this wasn't normal. He followed Kaiba anyway, somewhat afraid of the man doing something crazy.

"Look." Kaiba said as he pulled a tree branch that was blocking Yugi's view.

The small amount of light from the sun setting was being blocked from the tops of the trees. All that was left was the shadow that covered the ground.

Yugi could feel his jaw drop from his mouth in horror.

"Isn't that Mai's car?" he asked somewhat unsure of himself. He thought he saw her in it, but secretly hoped he was wrong.

The car was smashed and it was just balancing on a tree it had knocked over. Slowly, before he even realized it, his feet were walking toward the mess.

Glass was all over the ground and it was colored red as if somebody had painted it. Yugi felt differently.

He gazed into the car, or what was left of it, and saw that the inside was also damaged. The doors were pushed in and glass sat everywhere.

"How'd you know about this?" Yugi asked flatly. His voice was shaky and different visions ran through his head.

"They found a KaibaCorp helicopter blown away. Witnesses said it was attacking the car. I calculated the blast. The cars, they said, were also mine. Well they claimed." he explained.

Yugi, who had been trying to pull the door open, glared at him.

"Were they yours?" he asked.

"No.'' Kaiba answered quite seriously. Yugi only stared, Kaiba's eyes seemed to be penetrating his own.

Luckily the rain had stopped sometime ago, or they would both be soaked by now.

"I can't get this door open." Yugi said after some time. Kaiba didn't answer.

"Want to help me?" Yugi asked, as if he was trying to get some response from Kaiba.

Only Kaiba wasn't looking at him. His gaze was fixated on the ground. The fact that he stood there quite still for a long time bothered Yugi.

After sometime, Kaiba kneeled to the ground and wiped away some somewhat damp dirt from the ground. Ignoring the worm that slithered over his hand, he kept digging. Something shiny had caught his eye.

A few seconds later he reached the object. It was a cell phone, at least half of it. The other half was near it, but they were split apart.

The screen was cracked and Kaiba assumed somebody stepped on it. Her name was displayed on the back in jewels, but some were missing.

"This was her cellphone." Kaiba said after what seemed like centuries to Yugi.

"Are you sure?" he asked. For some reason the hopelessness in his voice almost made Kaiba want to lie. It almost made him want to ignore the whole ordeal and pretend that Mokuba was sitting at home eagerly awaiting his arrival.

That, unfortunately, was a lie . . . and he couldn't keep living a lie.

"Yeah." Kaiba answered roughly. His voice sounded hoarse, but he would never admit to it.

His eyes happened to meet Yugi and an unspoken grief had filled the forest.

* * *

Serenity had fallen asleep on the other side of the room. She was curled up in a chair and was snoring softly. They had been there for a long time, and nobody objected to the idea.

The only sound in the room was her snoring and the low hum of the machines. Other words there was complete silence, although Joey could have sworn he heard his heart beat rather loudly.

The silence wasn't one of understanding or awkwardness. It was the type of silence one experiences when they meet a new person for the first time and doubt usually fills the air.

"Do you have my phone?" Mai asked. She had been preparing herself throughout the whole time to talk to him. Fear, anxiety, pain and guilt all clouded her mind and it made her stay silent.

"No, it broke." he responded in a low voice. He knew that it cracked but he was past the point of caring. He saw her nod from the corner of his eye, but made no effort to continue the conversation. The low hums of the machine were rather soothing to him, and helped him not to think.

If he started thinking or feeling for that matter, he couldn't guarantee what would happen. He did predict crying though.

The ticking of the clock had also become unreasonably louder. Each time the small red hand moved, Mai's heart beat louder. She was convinced that everyone had to have heard it, but then she realized the foolish thought and bitterly laughed.

She could be so stupid.

Upon thinking of that, she could feel her throat start to close and her eyes weld up with tears.

Joey looked at her with concern. At one time he would have told it was okay to cry, but not now. He couldn't handle it. The old Mai Valentine didn't cry and sometimes he just wanted her back. Sure she might have been a smartass, but . . . it was a hopeless thought altogether and Joey knew it.

"You know what I have to do." Mai said in a low voice. Joey just nodded automatically.

"I can't let you." he replied. Her head turned quickly to him in a manner of rage.

"No, I guess you can't. To bad I won't listen." she responded. She was putting all her energy toward getting off the small bed. Luckily she achieved it so that her legs could hang over the side and so that she could sit.

She was still hooked up to some machines, and what they did were foreign to her. Glancing down at the needles in her arm, she gasped.

"Mai, don't be stupid." Joey said sadly as he sat beside her on the bed.

"Little late for that." she answered with a heartfelt sigh. He avoided her gaze. He couldn't look at her.

"I have to fix the mess I made." she added.

"You can't." Joey answered. It was true. She couldn't bring someone back from the dead. She couldn't give Kaiba his pride or his perfect reputation back either. She could give him Mokuba and that had to mean something.

"I have to find Mokuba. I've got too." Mai said as she closed her eyes and pulled the needles out of her arm. She quickly placed some gauze that was laying on the bedside table over it . Luckily there was a big enough bandage there to wrap around the gauze.

"It's too dangerous, look at what Kaiba did to you." Joey said in an angry voice. She couldn't risk her life again. He wouldn't let her.

"What are you going to do about it? Huh Joey? What can you possibly do?" she quipped back, her voice drenched in sarcasm.

"I'm not going to let you kill yourself because you want to make something up to Kaiba." he replied, agitated. Mai rolled her eyes.

"This isn't about Kaiba. This isn't about Mokuba. This is bigger. Somebody died because of me . . . this is about every little thing I've ever done. Think about all of the lives I destroyed. I need to fix it, as best as I can. Because I won't be able to live with myself . . . especially after . . . this is about what's right. It's the right thing to do. You've got to have faith in me Joey, because if you don't, nobody will." she said, her voice was quivering more with each word and tears that she thought had gone away dared to come back.

"I know you did do a lot of damage. But I won't let you do this, not now." he responded, in his previous low voice. Mai made a huffing sound.

"I can't believe you don't get this. It's like one of those macho things. There is no other way. I have to find Kaiba and then rescue Mokuba." she replied but for some reason she was laughing. Basically because she was explaining to Joey the one thing he always did . . . selflessly help people and now it was her turn.

Joey sighed in frustration. She wasn't listening. She was having a hard time sitting up and was obvious by her shaking.

Yet Joey did know, he did understand.

"I'll come with you. It's too dangerous for you by yourself." he said, finally giving in to her. Her mood didn't change and she answered him with a no.

"Mai, it's dangerous. You can't keep doing these things by yourself. You won't admit it, but you need help." he replied, his voice became shaky. Joey Wheeler hardly ever pleaded for anything, but Mai was different. She always was, probably always will be.

Mai only looked at him. For once, she looked older than she was. Even with mascara running down her face she was still beautiful, but something was different. Her eyes were unreadable and that only bothered Joey, for he knew whatever it was that she was about to say he wouldn't like. Mai only looked away from him and decided to study the off blue color of the tile floor.

"Joey. In life, there are things you have to do by yourself. This is one of those things. I can't let you get in the way of that. You're right. It'll probably be dangerous. Who knows what will happen . . . I don't. But I've got to have something, maybe it is faith, that somebody somewhere will make it turn out okay. I don't know that though . . . And I can't risk you, not now, not ever. You've come so far since the Duelist Kingdom days. See that girl sleeping there, that is what you fought for . . . you've got family Joey. You have a sister and a wonderful yet slightly odd woman who is in love with you. You can't desert them for me. I can't let you throw away your friends and family to come with me. I won't let you make that mistake." she said. A few tears fell from her eyes, but she didn't care.

Joey wanted to argue, he wanted to call a doctor in and make them put her to sleep. He wanted to wake up and realize the past few years were a bad dream. There were a lot of things he wanted to do, but didn't.

He only nodded and watched her push herself up and start to walk out the door, in the same bloodied outfit she arrived in.

"Mai . . . if you need me,'' he started to say, but she only glanced at him.

"I won't." she answered as she turned her back on him.

"I might call anyway." she yelled back into the room before walking out.

Joey sat in silence for a moment, feeling completely drained of emotion. That didn't stop him though as he dashed out of the room. He followed Mai out of the office where she just signed her release papers. Something in him wouldn't let her leave like that. He had to have the last word. He had to let her know . . .

"Wait." he called. Mai stopped, somewhat glad for the distraction. She knew she couldn't let him know that though.

"Do you like making this hard on me?" she asked. Joey grabbed her arm and took a deep breath.

"No. But Mai I've gotta tell you, this is crazy. But I believe in ya. I know you can do it. But Mai you've got to know by now. You are my friend and you always will be. You could push me off of the nearest bridge and I'd still swim right back up if I knew you needed me. Yugi, Tristan . . . they were always my closest friends . . . but what we have is different. Nobody else will ever get it and I don't want them too. You, Mai, are my best friend and I love you. I just thought you should know, even if you don't get it right away, I want you to know." he said. His voice was full of raw emotion.

Mai only nodded and took a deep gulp. Joey let go of her arm and walked toward her previous room.

"Thanks Joey, I get it." she called back without glancing.

Mai knew that if she stopped thinking, or moving, for a second she'd collapse. She knew that if that happened, that the chance of her completing her mission was hopeless.

That's why reality constantly fluttered around her mind and she didn't push it away. At least somebody believed in her.

Her paces were quick but heavy only because of her state of mind and the seriousness of the ordeal.

Upon arriving at the doors, Mai saw somebody entering them.

It turned out to be two men who were shocked at the sight of her.

"Mai?" Yugi asked, for he happened to be one of the two. Mai only nodded, but her gaze wasn't directed toward Yugi at all.

"Are you okay? What happened? No offense, but you look awful." Yugi rambled. Mai closed her eyes for a few seconds, the pain she was feeling was started to bother her.

Unknowingly she touched her hair and felt the dirt that was caked in it. She also saw the dark brown substance. Her blood dried.

Touching the side of her face, she saw the mascara and dirt come off on her hand. She had to agree with Yugi. She did indeed look terrible.

Again she didn't answer him.

"Can you talk Mai?" Yugi asked, he was concerned for her. It seemed like she was empty, as if she was completely numb and the touch of anybody could knock her over onto the tiled floor.

"I know what you did." Kaiba said, his voice harsh and cold. Yugi had heard this particular tone of Kaiba's voice, but that was long ago in their professional dueling days. Now they only dueled because Kaiba was somewhat obsessive over the subject of defeating Yugi.

Mai's eyes only looked at him curiously, but she remained still. She looked like an antique doll to Yugi. It made him think of a little girl throwing her into the dirt and then spilling red fingernail polish on her.

"You are going to pay." Kaiba said, everyone knew that fact, so it wasn't a surprise.

"That won't help you now." she answered to Yugi's surprise. Her voice was brittle and somewhat broken.

"You telling me what I need to know will." Kaiba replied rather smartly. Mai only gave a bitter laugh.

"Or you'll attack me with your helicopter again?" she asked sarcastically. Kaiba only glared at her.

"That wasn't me, I didn't authorize that. You are the one who stole KaibaCorp from me." he replied. Something automatically sparked in Mai's eyes.

"That means that . . . " she whispered to herself. She clasped her hand over her mouth in shock. Kaiba rolled his eyes at her antics, he didn't have time for this.

"This is all your fault anyway." Kaiba added. Mai only shook her head. Somewhere, something in her clicked. Kaiba was right, he couldn't have issued the attack on her because the vehicles weren't his. They, were hers and Valons.

Somehow the thought of that made her feel worse, and she felt herself leaning against the wall for support.

"I'll help you." she said as she bit her lip. She had to push herself up and it was a difficult task.

"I don't want your help." Kaiba replied bitterly.

"No, but you'll need it.'' she answered quietly, and both of them knew it.

"If anything happens Valentine, your life is on the line, you know that right?" Kaiba asked, and he was very serious.

"I know." she answered simply. Her biggest problem right now was the physical pain she was feeling, but she wouldn't let that get in her way.

"And you're okay with that?" Kaiba asked, but it wasn't to be frightening. It was mostly out of curiosity. He could hardly believe that the pitiful woman in front of him caused everything.

"That's the way it should be." Mai replied confidently as she pushed herself off the wall.

"Let's find my brother." Kaiba replied quietly.

They had to, because if they couldn't, Kaiba would be lost.


	12. Black Roses

**MissDomaYuset-** Hey thanks! You will just have to wait and see what is going to happen! (10 out of 10 yes!)

**bunbunlover/cherryopsicle** - Thanks for all of your wonderful reviews. Hopefully your questions will be answered. Don't worry, the relationship issue will be addressed, but Mokuba and someone else is Mai's first priority! Sorry about that!

**5animefan**- Your welcome! I always thought they had a special bond, and even if they don't end up together, they always will have a special bond. At least that's how I feel on the situation.

**Growing Pain**- I like Mokuba too, that's why I checked in on him this chapter. Hope this chapter suits your liking and answers some of your questions. I figured I'd throw out some more back story, it's important. So Valon will make an appearance, but it won't be that bad . . . or will it? Guess you'll have to find out! lol

Random Notes: I thought this chapter was really long, but when I was finished with it, I found it to be shorter than my other recent chapters! I'd keep going, but I think I stopped at a good place. Anyway this whole fic was supposed to be called Black Roses, and this chapter is why. Although I orginally had a much longer back story for the whole black roses things, I cut it down. Oh well. Plus I changed the name, nope it's never been called Black Roses. Honestly I forgot about the whole idea until today. Huh go figure. Sorry just my useless rambling . . . It's funny how I wrote this listening to 'For You I Will' and 'I Could Not Ask For More' Oh and I make a reference to Noah, if you don't know who he is then sorry

**Disclaimer:** YGO isn't mine, or all of the characters would be experiencing constant emotional pain on so many levels that people would become bored of it and the show would be forever cancelled. (J/k)

The room was dark and had a damp feeling to it. It was if one had just taken a shower and then jumped into a dirty pond for no reason. The dampness seemed to hang in the air and give the room a horrid smell of old moss and for some reason garbage.

Besides being damp it was cold, although the two usually tend to go hand in hand in certain types of predicaments.

An annoyed sigh escaped from the young boys lips. He never understood why evil people never payed heating bills . . . or why they always picked dingy places to 'hideout'. Evil people in general confused him, but he stopped trying to figure them out a long time ago.

The young boy slouched in his chair as much as he could, but it proved to be a difficult task. He was tied to the chair, and his hands and legs were cuffed to it. His head only hung in disappointment and shame for the whole occurrence.

What was taking Kaiba so long to find him anyway?

He let out another sigh, but was told to shut-up by some unknown voice. He couldn't really see because his corner was impossibly dark. At first, he thought it might work to his advantage, but after a few days with only water to fill him, escaping seemed like a wild dream.

He wasn't strong enough. The only thing he hung onto was the hope that his brother would find him. For a while he held onto the rage he felt every time Valon said a word, but Valon's voice had disappeared quite a while ago.

"This is hopeless." Mokuba thought to himself and subconsciously hung his head lower.

* * *

"Can you just shut the Hell up for a minute?" she yelled loudly as she threw the papers on the floor of the small vehicle.

"If it wasn't for you than this would never have happened." another voice shot back just as angry.

"Kaiba, do you want to find Mokuba or not . . . if you do than you'll have to get off my back and let me do what I have too." was the responding sound. Kaiba only sunk lower into the seat, if it was possible.

Kaiba was rather tall, and there wasn't enough room in the Volkswagen Beetle before. Now that Mai was there, the space became cramped and uptight.

Luckily it was just the two of them, because Kaiba still had Yugi's keys and he drove off in it just as Yugi ran out to the parking lot.

"And what is it that you know Valentine? How can you help, and besides Hell would freeze over before I was ever on your back." he replied in an angry tone. Mai bit her lip and shook her head.

Her body was still hurting, but she knew if she concentrated on this one thing, than maybe the pain would go away . . . at least until she finally collapsed when it was all over. She tried her best to ignore him, even though he only spoke the truth.

"Listen, I need to get back to my apartment . . . I'll get my laptop . . . besides that's where some of the important stuff is anyway. I'll be able to transfer everything back to you, which should give Valon a nice wake-up call." she explained hastily. Kaiba rolled his eyes, her ideas were so elementary and he knew he could have thought of better ones.

But he was hopeless now, and she was his only way to fight this hidden enemy.

Of course him relying on her in the slightest form was a low blow and everyone knew, but he couldn't understand why she wasn't throwing it into his face every five seconds.

"Turn there." she said, pointing her finger to the left. He hated feeling like the driver but did so only because of her importance, otherwise she'd be walking.

"I'm assuming that Valon moved from headquarters, and he knows something we don't." Mai rattled on. Apparently she was talking for several minutes, but her voice become lost within the confusion in his mind. Kaiba looked at her briefly.

"What could that possibly be?" he asked, his voice full of doubt.

"Obviously that I've teamed up with somebody . . . not on his side . . . other words he wouldn't have tried to kill me and blame it on you." she analyzed to his surprise.

"Makes sense, but did he have enough time to pack up, leave and start all over again?" Kaiba asked her. Mai shrugged.

"He had all day . . . and I know he did it. Valon isn't one to let things fail. He hates it. What you don't understand Kaiba is the full effect of power . . . evil power. Valon will go to any lengths to get what he wants, and he won't have a problem killing Mokuba to get it." she explained, her voice lowered with each word.

"And you still teamed up with him?" Kaiba asked in an annoyed voice. He was mostly annoyed at her stupidity, but he didn't know why . . . it just didn't make sense to him.

"Again, you've never tasted real power. It's not just the money, or the fame. It's the control, the evil. It runs through your veins, rules you . . . and it won't let you go. It won't let you breath and pushes you to get more . . . and the only way to even sleep at night is to push yourself that far off of the edge. You've never been there." she explained in a dark manner.

"And you have?" Kaiba asked, he didn't appreciate her talking to him like he was a novice in any situation. Mai didn't answer for sometime, and only looked at the window and watched the raindrops roll down it.

"Yeah . . . I have . . . but you knew that. Deep down, and I bet you the world that you can't sit there and convince me you didn't. You don't know the things I've done, I almost did . . . and you don't want to know what I'm capable of. You just saw the show, never behind the scenes." her answer was in a harsh whisper, but instead of sounding sincere, it sounded cold and distant.

"Evil has a taste?" Kaiba asked her, unsure of what to expect.

"Yeah, sweet and sour all at once. It's horrible at the beginning . . . shocking even . . . but as you go on, it becomes sweeter until it runs with your blood and you crave it. Kinda of like a strawberry, how their sweet and sour all at once, and you think you don't want to finish . . . but then you do." was her quiet response.

Kaiba didn't answer, only drove straight ahead, occasionally higher the power of the windshield wipers and watching the rain fall. It was mostly curiosity that made him speak again.

"How do you walk away from something like that?" he asked.

"You don't. You live with . . . go through with it, but you never escape it. It haunts you, the need, makes you stay awake at night remembering every horrible thing you've done . . . and it doesn't go away. That is, until, you start doing those things again . . . and then you're numb. But me, personally, somebody always pulls me back." she explained with a bitter laugh at the end for good measure.

"And if somebody didn't pull you back?" he asked, his voice full of curiosity now. Mai only shrugged.

"I'd be down in Mexico with a bunch of hot guys, lots of money and you would be up here with no money and a dead brother . . . you'd probably be dead too." was her answer. It wasn't the answer that shocked him though, it was careless and lively way she answered it.

Silence filled the vehicle and Mai pointed in the direction of the small driveway to the apartment. Kaiba didn't want to talk to her anymore, he didn't want to think of her and he surely didn't want to be near her. She was crazy . . . and yet he kept pounding her for questions and he didn't know why.

It was unsaid, but she decided to go into her apartment by herself. Kaiba had no intention of going in, but she never knew what was going on in his mind anyway.

"I'll be right back." she said hurriedly as she exited the vehicle and ran toward the complex in which she lived. He leaned back in his seat, as much as he could, and turned the heater up.

It was unreasonably cold and he didn't understand why. Not that he cared, there was only one thing that was on his mind.

His little brother . . . and that was it.

At least, that's what was supposed to be it. He patiently waited for her to return but soon found himself sighing in annoyance.

It had only been three minutes but he wanted out of this whole predicament and he wanted his brother safe. It seemed simple enough, but he knew it couldn't be.

Her previous words ran through his head as he leaned against the steering wheel. Why was he still thinking about her? Why did he even care?

He knew she was crazy, and everyone knew that. Yet there was something about her, or to be more accurate everything about her, that made him think of curious things.

But somewhere, deep down within him, he felt some sort of weird connection toward her. It was almost like a pull toward her. He tried and tried to pull away but somehow he was always drawn toward her.

He didn't know why he felt this way, but he did deny it. He would hardly admit it to himself.

She reminded him of his stepfather. She was just like the power-hungry man who would stop at nothing for power. It was that same man that Kaiba destroyed at such a tender age. It was weird to compare her to a man who created a virtual brother to the two boys, as if that would really save Noah anyhow.

Kaiba rolled his eyes at the thought of Noah, his virtual stepbrother . . . and it hit him how dysfunctional his family was. His father would rather die than live in failure.

Kaiba doesn't know why he saw that quality in Mai, but he did.

When Kaiba looks at her though, actually looks at her, with complete eye-contact . . . all he sees is the shadow lingering behind the amethyst. It's just darkness and he stupidly wonders if it goes on forever.

He knows it can't, but he still wonders.

Sometimes he wonders, if that's what people see when they look at him. Do they see the thirst for more in his blue orbs or do they see a shadow lingering behind them? The shadow of the perfect duelist that he once was . . . the cold shadow he had become by shutting himself off to everyone but Mokuba.

The thought of becoming like his father or Mai quickly flickered through his mind, but he hastily pushed it away. The occasional doubt or fear that hits him bothers him. He shouldn't be scared or unsure. He's Seto Kaiba, the Seto Kaiba, and he should be above that.

He laughs pathetically at his musing and then looked at the clock. He had been sitting in silence for the past fifteen minutes. How long could this really take?

He sighed and pushed the door open. He stretched his legs and entered the complex, annoyed at the extra effort.

He didn't know which room was hers, but he went into the one with the open wooden door, for some reason the number that was supposed to be on the door was lying on the ground.

He just stepped over it. Upon entering he saw glass splattered all over the floor.

Chairs were thrown all over and pieces of wood were cluttered around them. Papers were also ripped and lying on the floor.

It seemed that the glass cabinets were missing the glass pieces, along with whatever was supposed to be in them.

The television, couch, and VCR were the only things in tact though. Even the broken lamps laid on the floor with pieces of the light bulbs surrounding them.

Mai stood in the middle of the wreckage motionless.

"Mai?" Kaiba called. This was getting him nowhere. He knew that it was a horrible experienced when one was robbed, but this was ridiculous.

"Listen, we have to find my brother." he continued. It sounded as if he was speaking in monologue. His voice never faltered or changed pitch. Honestly, he sounded rather bored.

She remained unresponsive.

"I know you were robbed but you just have to deal with this later." he said again rather tactlessly. For some reason he felt like he had to keep talking. Maybe because if he talked, then she would fall apart and he would be absolutely hopeless.

"I know who did it." she said in a voice that was barely below a whisper. If the room wasn't dead silent then he wouldn't have heard it at all.

Kaiba rolled his eyes and stomped his foot impatiently.

"That helps me how?" was his angry question. He didn't care who robbed her and he didn't care about how she felt. He wanted his brother, his company, his pride . . . he wanted it back. She took it away from him, so why should he feel for her?

She let a small sound escape her lips. It sounded like a laugh, but could have been a sigh. Kaiba will never know. She only pointed toward the couch as slow as she could.

Kaiba rolled his eyes for the umpteenth time that day and walked over to where she was standing. On the couch was a blank videotape. On top of the video tape laid five black roses which were fully alive. Yet on top of them laid a dead rose and most of its petals laid along the couch.

He stood there speechless, unsure of what to say really. This meant nothing to him, and yet he could tell that it registered in her mind.

"Why six?" was his only question. She didn't answer, and only looked forward at the darkness that crept into the corners of her apartment.

"Half a dozen . . ." she answered. It was practical of course. They stood there for some time before Mai finally took a deep breath and threw the flowers on the flower before jumping on all of them except for the dead one. She put that inside her jacket while Kaiba wasn't looking.

She picked up the video tape and closed her eyes for a moment. Clearing off a spot on the couch, she motioned for Kaiba to sit down.

"I think I'm supposed to watch it." she responded to his uneasy look. She pushed it in her VCR, turned on the tv and took a seat beside Kaiba.

She made a wincing sound as she did it, but they both ignored her pain. If only she had a hot tub . . .

The tape started by showing all of the static that it usually does. Suddenly a persons face popped up. Behind them was darkness, so their location was secure.

"Mai." the person said. Even though Kaiba was only sitting by her, he could actually feel her tense up at the image on the screen.

"Well Mai, I guess you went soft again. Can't ever go through anything can ya? You know what your problem is, well besides the obvious, you're afraid of commitment." the man said with a laugh. It was obviously Valon, but his voice was full of pain and greed now. It was no longer filled with the kindness toward Mai as before.

"Guess I wasn't good enough. It happens. I can deal. You won't be able too though. Nope, that'll suck. Joey's getting married and you're left alone." he continued.

Mai's finger hovered over the stop button on the remote. She was tempted to shut him off and burn the tape along with the remains of her stupid broken possessions. To her surprise though, Kaiba grabbed the remote and placed it on the couch.

He didn't know why, but he felt that the tape might be important. Also, there was the fact, that somewhere deep within him he felt a sort of pity toward him. She was sitting to him, broken in mostly every way possible and she was still trying to help. She was trying to fix what she did. Not to mention the fact that she was wet from being outside, but she wasn't drenched.

She ignored him.

"So here's the deal sweetheart. I've got Mokuba. You know that. I've got the money and your laptop, of course you know that. Unfortunately I did take your supply of painkillers, but I doubt you found that out. By the way . . . that whole chase thing, I never meant for it to go that far. I didn't want you hurt or killed, just scared. But no, you couldn't go off to paradise, you had to complicate things." Valon's eyes were starting to water at this point and disbelief filled his voice.

Kaiba heard Mai mutter the word bastard, but he let it go.

"I never meant that . . . I just wanted you to be happy. Somewhere deep down I know you believe that. But this mess called life got caught in the way. You want Mokuba back, don't you? You'll have to come and get him. Alone. I thought that that would suit you. At Kaiba's old office, on the rooftop."

"But don't worry, Mokuba won't be alone . . . he's got a friend with him. Man, she's awfully pretty too. Long auburn hair . . . if you weren't such a looker I might have gone for her. I mean, doesn't everyone else. Isn't she who Tristan and Duke long for. Pathetic, spending your whole existence pining over the love of a woman, who doesn't want you. I know, been there. Bet you can guess who our new friend is."

"I'm sure that Joey will fill you in on how it happened, so I won't waste your time. But there is something I do want. But you don't get to know until tonight. I want you there at 2:00 in the morning. And if you're not, then I'll kill both of them. I always knew the girl was like a sister to you, but what will Joey say when he finds out you got his sister killed?" Valon was teasing her now, in the cruelest way he knew how.

"Oh, and by the way Mai, I knew you'd like the flowers." With that statement, the video ended static filled the screen again.

Silence and the dull buzzing of the room seemed to be the only sound there was at that moment. Mai took a deep breath, and with it, pain spread through her stomach.

She inwardly flinched and closed her eyes momentarily.

"Uh, what time is it?" Mai asked. Her voice had become hard and determined, as if she was dueling. Kaiba hadn't heard her speak like that in a long time.

"Uh, I don't know . . . a little after midnight." was his response. Mai but her lip and nodded.

"Right, fine, okay." she said. Pushing herself off of the couch she walked over to the small desk. The drawer was still in it, but the items in the drawer were undisturbed.

Kneeling on the floor, Mai looked through the papers and the other things one usually has cluttered in a drawer.

After a few seconds of this, she found what she needed. It was a small gun, but it worked for her.

"You're kidding right?" Kaiba asked as he peered over her shoulder.

"Got a better idea?" she asked sarcastically. Kaiba only stood there and shrugged.

"You'd really shoot him?" he asked. For some reason the thought of Mai with a gun was disturbing to him. Maybe it was because she was emotionally distraught.

"Kaiba, haven't you learned by now that to get through to a person you have to use their weaknesses. Unfortunately for Valon, I know his weakness." she replied.

"What is that?" asked Kaiba, for he was skeptic. Mai only rolled her eyes as she stood up.

"You don't get to know. That's between us." was her response. She was walking toward the doorway now in such a determined manner that Kaiba didn't want to stop her.

He gazed at the broken flowers on the floor and gave them a quizzical look.

"What were the flowers for?" he asked, rather seriously. Mai looked away from him and toward the door.

"It was . . . after I defeated Pegasus, Valon took me out to celebrate. At the end of the night he gave me six black roses. They were my favorite kind, ever since I was a little girl. I didn't know how he knew, but it was nice . . . that he cared enough to do it. After that is was a usual thing, another person defeated, another six. But after the downfall of Dartz he stopped . . . they were a reminder, a reward, of the people's lives I destroyed. I used to be proud of it, excited for them, but I told him that I never wanted to see another one again. Not until I knew that we were completely done." she explained and for some reason her determination was fading.

Kaiba watched her curiously. How she changed moods so quickly was remarkable to him. He never knew anybody that could change on a dime. He wondered if she considered becoming an actress.

She was closer to the door now, and a feeling of impending doom rose in him.

"Shouldn't we inform Wheeler about what's going on?" he asked before he could think of what he was asking. He didn't know why, but her abrupt way of acting was worrying him.

"No, we . . . sorry, I have to go as soon as possible. You can't possibly think that he made it easy for me to meet him?" she asked as if he was stupid.

"You can't possibly be serious. I understand the whole 'take back the day and stand up for yourself' type of thing, but you can't do it by yourself." Kaiba told her. His voice was rising with each second and the calm manner he might have had disappeared.

"It's not about what I think, it's about what I have to do." Mai said annoyed. Why did she have to explain everything over and over again?

"It's my brother in danger and I'm not going to let you go alone and lose." Kaiba yelled. He was obviously upset and the shaking in his voice was somewhat uncharacteristic of him. Mai figured that it was the most human emotion he had shown in front of someone for a long time.

"Too bad I have too." she said. Glancing over toward the kitchen, she grabbed a chair leg and hit Kaiba over the head with it. It was such a quick action that he didn't have anytime to retaliate.

He fell over on the floor with a loud thud. Mai drug him so that he was leaning against the backside of the couch.

"Sorry sweetheart, I will save your brother and I'll save Serenity . . . but I can't have you interfering." she told him, although he couldn't hear her. She was surprised at her sudden strength.

Standing up she grabbed a pen and a piece of paper. Somewhere deep down she had a feeling that Yugi or Joey would show up in her apartment looking for her.

_Joey or Yugi,  
__Don't worry about Kaiba that was my fault. He'll wake up soon if he isn't already gone. I'll explain everything later . . . I've got something I've got to do. Don't wait up, but I promise I'll fix everything.__  
Mai_

She threw the pen on the floor and placed the paper on the kitchen counter, knowing it was visible.

Shaking her hair around she felt the inside of her pocket for something of vital importance to her. She immediately found it and quietly left the apartment.

Upon walking outside she glanced at Yugi's car. Although cute, it wouldn't fit her needs. She quickly hot-wired her neighbor's black Viper and jumped in.

It was time for her to step up, and she was ready.


	13. And Everyone Else

Can you say filler? LOL, yeah and that about sums it up for this chapter. The next one though . . . is the beginning of the end . . . dun dun dun . . . the confrontation we've (me included) have been waiting for is almost here! Hopefully I'm keeping it suspenseful and not boring . . . but just bare with me. This chapter is rather short so that'll be good. Other than that, I find it rather boring (that's just me though) . . . but um it's really a wake-up call for all of the other not-so-main characters . . .

5animefan- Why yes, it could go anywhere . . . but where?

cherryopsicle-Wait no longer for here is the next chapter!

Growing Pain- Hey I like your musing, so please, continue. I love inputs and ideas. I thought it would be funny to have Kaiba knocked out, just because it could happen. Plus it's always good to lighten the mood before darkening it (if that makes sense). There's a tiny bit of Mokuba in this chapter also! I just love that kid.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own YGO. (Or Kryptonite, the song in which I put some of the lyrics that inspired me)

"I watched the world float to the dark side of the moon  
After all I know it has to be something to do with you  
I really don't mind what happens now and then  
As long as you'll be my friend at the end" Kryptonite- 3 Doors Down

The cell phone in which he was clutching on so tightly had fallen to the ground. Unfortunately, because of his luck, it fell into a mud puddle. It didn't matter though, as he was to busy trying to stand up let alone listen.

Lights seemed to swirl around him and sounds became distant. That always seemed to be happening to him lately.

He didn't even run for shelter as the thunder boomed in the background.

Suddenly after standing in the same position for a few minutes he knew he had to take action. A good first step would be to get backup.

Yet how would he explain everything Joey told to him several minutes ago? Wouldn't they ask about Joey, and where were Joey and Yugi off to anyway? How did he always get caught up in explaining things in which he really had no idea?

Duke only knew one thing, that the girl he loved was in danger. It happened to be the same girl Tristan loved, so an easy alley was found there. Tea and Abby would jump on the cause.

He had to save Serenity.

It had been a strange situation.

She was sleeping on a chair in Mai's room. Mai left and Joey typically followed. Duke understood that. What he didn't get was how Serenity was captured in a total of about fifteen minutes tops. The captor had left a note, but Joey wasn't keen on sharing that no matter how Duke pried.

All Duke knew was that Serenity was in mortal danger and could actually die.

The thought scared him.

He wanted to help, of course he did. Yet he knew nothing about it at all. All Joey said was to watch out for them and to gather at Yugi's.

That didn't help. Duke felt that maybe, just maybe, Joey was concealing something else. What else could Joey know?

Duke thought they were friends, close enough friends to share secrets.

He figures he was wrong.

Duke was running now, faster than he ever did. Luckily Joey's house was only half a mile away. Hopefully everyone would be there. He was kind of counting on it.

Duke didn't understand how everything always turned out this way. In fact everything was perfect not to long ago.

Ever since Mai came back though . . . and it hit him. It was slower than he would have preferred, but the idea finally hit him.

Was Mai involved? She had to be.

That's why Joey wasn't sharing anything else. Did he think Duke would do something radical to her? If Serenity was hurt, Duke couldn't be held responsible for what he might do. Even though he hated to admit it, Tristan would be right there with him.

Duke did know the bond between Joey and Serenity, so the secrecy only confused him. Surely Serenity's bond must be stronger than Mai's?

Duke wasn't wasting enough time to find out. A new rush of breath came from him and he ran on, ignoring the rain that pelted him and the wind that threatened to knock him over.

* * *

"Do you think she'd go back there?" Yugi asked as he slid into the taxicab. It was a tight squeeze for him and Joey, but they fit.

It must have been the smallest taxi that Yugi had ever been in. If it wasn't for the grim situation, he would have laughed. He was daring to laugh now, to try and lighten up the mood. In fact, Yugi always thought that all taxis were identical . . . he found out he was wrong.

The look on Joey's face said otherwise.

"Yeah, I'm sure." was his response a few seconds later. He was constantly moving his head around, as if he was trying to get a better view.

The ride was quiet and full of anxious tension. Yugi wanted to help his friend more than anything, but he didn't think chasing Mai was the way to do it.

He didn't know the way, exactly, but he didn't think that was the way. He stayed silent though and supported Joey's decision.

Upon arriving at the apartment, Yugi saw his car in the driveway. A small, victorious smile rose on Joey's face.

"Told ya buddy, she's here. She's gotta be." Joey said excitedly as he threw the cab fare at the driver and jumped out of the car. Yugi followed quickly.

Joey dashed into the building, and stopped so quickly that Yugi bumped into him knocking himself over.

"Joey?" Yugi asked. Joey didn't answer, he only walked into the apartment.

Upon entering the building, Joey felt that something was wrong. He didn't know how, or why, he couldn't even explain the feeling of terror that arose withing him, he just knew. So when he went into the apartment, he was prepared for it.

"Oh, wow." Yugi said in disbelief as he looked over the wreckage. Suddenly his eyes glanced over a body lying against the couch.

"Kaiba." Yugi yelled. He ran over to the man and starting shaking him by the shoulders. Kaiba didn't budge.

Yugi then slapped him lightly across the face to try and wake him, but it didn't work.

"Maybe you should challenge him to a duel Yug, that always seems to snap him out of anything." Joey suggested. He was met by Yugi rolling his eyes and sighing. Joey shrugged, he figured he was just stating the obvious.

Suddenly Joey got a glass of cold water and spilled it on Kaiba.

Kaiba's head started to move slightly and he slowly opened up his eyes. He immediately jumped up and screamed for Mai's name.

"Where is she?" he asked Joey.

"Ya mean she's gone?" Joey replied. Kaiba kicked the couch fiercely. It put a hole though the fabric, but he didn't care. He didn't like purple anyway.

"Dammit." Joey said, clenching his fists.

Yugi, who had not resorted to shouting or swearing, explored the apartment. He found a small piece of paper and picked it up.

It was the note from Mai.

"Guys." he called. They walked over to him and read it.

"Well that's vague." Joey said. Yugi looked at him with the slightest annoyance.

"Obviously." Kaiba replied cooly. Yugi knew that now wasn't the time for a battle of the egos, but he could feel it coming anyway.

"How'd you get knocked out anyway moneybags?" Joey asked. Although he was serious, a lighter tone could almost be picked out.

"Maihitmeoverthehead." Kaiba mumbled in one big sentence. Joey just barely contained his laughter.

"So is she still good?" Yugi asked, voicing the unasked question.

"Yeah, she's gotta be.'' Joey answered immediately, like he was waiting for the question to arrive.

"She's our friend then, we have to help her . . . but we have to help Mokuba and Serenity first." Yugi instructed. His eyes had become focused as if he was preparing himself for the worst. The happiness that usually laid beneath them dissolved into a determined grayness.

Kaiba then quickly explained about the videotape. He didn't go into detail, but he just gave the basic information.

"And she's going there by herself?" Joey asked. Kaiba nodded.

"You couldn't stop her?" Joey continued, raising his voice louder than he meant to.

"Obviously not. Do you think I don't want to save Mokuba? I could do it by myself if I had to." Kaiba shot back. Joey just shook his head.

"Did she . . . does she have anything with her? I mean what do you think Valon expects?" Joey asked while constantly looking between the two men.

Kaiba stared, he was half-tempted to tell Joey she had a gun. He knew it would just upset him more though, and the thought was alarming to Kaiba himself.

"No, I don't think so." Kaiba lied. Joey looked at him startled.

"I don't think Mai's that stupid . . . to go without something." Joey declared somewhat insightfully. It would have sounded a lot smarter if his voice wasn't quivering. Instead though, the words came out in a slow, jumbled mess.

Kaiba rolled his eyes and sighed. Joey did likewise. A few seconds later they were bickering over the stupidness of each other.

Yugi ignored them, as his mind was elsewhere. He started to walk away from the two men and into Mai's room.

All of the bedding was scattered on the floor. It looked like to Yugi that someone was just trying to scare Mai, and not actually rob her.

Kaiba mentioned this being the work of Valon, and Yugi only felt stronger about his theory.

He threw the bedding on top of the bed and underneath them he discovered a box. It was metal and locked.

It was also scuffed as if someone was trying to open it, but failed.

Yugi was a master at puzzle solving, so picking a lock wasn't a difficult task. He could overhear the shouts of stupidity from the other room, but felt that he shouldn't get involved.

After a few seconds of picking the lock with his Swiss Army knife, he successfully opened the mysterious box.

On top of it were some dried petals. Yugi didn't know what flowers they might have been, but he carefully took them out of the box.

He continued his exploration and saw some pictures. They were older and bent at the edges. One of them jumped out at him immediately. It was of two older people and a little girl. She was probably about six, at least that was Yugi's guess. The two older people looked quite glamorous, yet to a keen observer somewhat shallow. Yugi didn't know why he felt that way about them, but he did.

The little girl though, she was different. She was smiling, displaying all of her perfectly white teeth. They were too perfect to Yugi's liking. The smile seemed fake though, and he bet it was put on. Her eyes told a different story. They were full of sadness and it was obvious to anybody.

Yugi guessed that the picture was of Mai and her parents. Yugi didn't know much about her past, other than what she said, but it didn't sound as glamorous as the photo.

He wondered that if he had inquired more if she had turned out the way she did. He was curious about a lot of things, but that really didn't help him now.

Yugi was persistent in his search though. He picked up another handful of pictures. One was taken on a sunny beach.

In it were four people. They were having a picnic, and true to the name there was a wicker basket and a red and white checkered sheet. Empty paper plates laid on it, but there were hardly obvious due to the four people in front of the camera.

They looked genuinely happy, which was the happiest he really ever saw them.

Raphael and Alister were on each end, smiling widely. Valon and Mai was in between them, looking as if life was perfect. The sun was starting to set and Yugi wondered when the picture was taken, before or after the evilness of Dartz.

Ignoring his pondering, he continued searching. He saw nothing else that particularly interested him, so he closed the box.

His next discovery was a purse that was sitting neatly on the knocked over dresser. Yugi figured that Mai had to have put it there herself.

He opened it, feeling a twinge of guilt for snooping, but carried on.

In it was some money, which he left, and some gum. It was her last piece. Yugi also saw another picture.

This one made him smile inwardly and he put it inside of his jacket pocket. Luckily he didn't bend it.

Her purse was empty other than that, and the exploration of her room didn't really help matters at all.

Well he had a little bit of insight on her, but that was it. It's not like that could help him now.

No, it wouldn't. He would have to rely on what he already knew.

He walked back into the living room. Joey and Kaiba were still arguing even louder than before. Yugi knew that he should have told them to be quiet, but he was still trying to concentrate at the matter at hand. Ignoring them was something he did on a daily basis anyway.

"Shut up Kaiba . . . listen we just gotta work together to find them." Joey shouted in the background. Yugi shook his head. It wasn't helping him either.

What did he know about Mai or even Valon for that matter that could help him?

Yugi closed his eyes, letting all of the sound dissolve from his ears. His mind became blank as he thought back as far as he could.

Pushing away the thoughts of losing the Pharaoh, he went further back. He remembered Dartz . . . beating him anyway.

He also remembered finding Joey set up against the fence along with Valon.

After a few moments of practically reliving some of the worst memories of his life, he arrived at the point in his mind that he wanted to get to.

Mai was dueling Joey. She looked upset, different. She spoke differently too, as if she became much colder than she was.

Suddenly she spoke of the pain and meeting Valon . . . how she lost to Valon.

Mai always did have a thing for guys she lost too in Yugi's opinion, well tall guys she lost too anyway.

Suddenly an answer struck Yugi.

"Mai's not defenseless." Yugi shouted rather happily, mostly at the fact that it was his wit that let him figure it out.

Kaiba and Joey stopped yelling and looked at him curiously.

"What?" the both asked.

"She's not defenseless . . . but I think we should back her up. We've gotta to save Mokuba and Serenity and I know we can, but we've got to be there for her." Yugi declared, rather determinedly . . . so much that Joey and Kaiba were disinclined to argue with him.

"We've got to go though, now." Yugi stated.

"I called Duke a while though, we should meet him at your place." Joey explained. Yugi nodded and Kaiba stared at them confused.

"Well why are we waiting?" Kaiba asked as the two followed him out of the apartment.

"Wait didn't you guys take Yugi's car?" Joey asked as they climbed into Yugi's car. Kaiba nodded. Looking beside the car he saw some skid marks. He nodded knowingly.

"Course she'd go for the Viper." he noted. Joey looked confused.

"What?" he asked. Kaiba sighed.

"I noticed it earlier. She must have stolen it. I doubt the owner would make marks like that." Kaiba deducted.

Joey found it of no importance and persisted on going to Yugi's.

* * *

"Valon, right? Um, you don't want to do this." Serenity pleaded as Mokuba and herself were pushed into a black limo. Valon accompanied them. He whispered something to James as James got into the driver's seat.

"I think I do." Valon replied to the girl's plea. Serenity bit her lip. At least she wasn't gagged anymore. Yet her wrists burned from the rope that tied them together. At least she was as bad off as Mokuba.

Well, from the tone in his voice, she decided she wasn't as bad off as the youngest Kaiba.

They were of course blindfolded, but that didn't bother Serenity in the slightest. She wanted to laugh at Valon for thinking that it would, she figured that thought came from her brother.

"Why?'' Serenity asked. Valon sighed and held himself back from hitting her in the head.

"It doesn't concern you." was his cruel reply.

"Obviously it does." she snapped back before she could control it. She heard Valon make a low growling sound that frightened her.

"I suggest that you'd be quite, after all . . . you are a pretty girl and I'm sure that one of my assistants would be very interested in you." Valon replied as a smirkingly, shocking smile appeared on his face.

"Back off of her." Mokuba shouted. He understood the reason for the comment and although he didn't know Serenity that well, he didn't want anything bad to happen to her.

"Just like your brother . . . all talk and no action. It's taking him a long time to save you isn't it? That's because we broke him . . . took his dignity away and he won't get you back. Probably doesn't want you back." Valon explained with a sarcastic laugh quickly following it.

"What about Mai?" Mokuba asked. He had picked up small pieces of information and he was able to deduct that the two were no longer partners.

"She has nothing over me." Valon replied, quite bored.

"Don't count her out Valon, one thing I learned about Mai is that no matter what she does, she's successful." Serenity spat out as coldly as she could. Mokuba shivered because Serenity sounded so Mai-like for a second.

"No, you're wrong. To succeed, you must carry-through. She never commits." Valon yelled. He punched the side of the car in frustration. Why was he letting this girl get him upset? He didn't understand. He should be ignoring her.

Yet he didn't. He just let her ramble on. Valon frowned, he should have gagged them. In reality, he didn't know why he didn't.

* * *

Joey, Yugi and Kaiba arrived at Yugi's house rather quickly. They were met by the small group of Duke, Tristan, Tea and Abby as planned.

The hustled into the shop and locked the door behind them.

Everyone but Joey and Kaiba sat on the couch or the floor. Kaiba was looking through the glass at the different cards that Yugi had displayed. Joey, on the other hand, was standing in the middle of the group.

"Ok, so Mokuba and Serenity will be held up at Kaiba's . . . and the instructions were for . . . well we have to be there at 2:00 in the morning." Joey said.

Tristan looked shocked.

"That doesn't give us much time to prepare!" he said. The others nodded in agreement to his statement. Joey shrugged.

"That's the way it is. Now are you losers going to get your act together or not?" Kaiba asked without looking at them. His gaze was still fixated on the cards underneath the glass.

He should have never came into this card shop those oh so many years ago. He doubts he'd be in the messes he had been in.

"Hey, our act is together, but what are we supposed to do?" Tristan yelled out. Everyone, except Kaiba, stared at him dimwittedly. He did have a point, which was odd for him.

"Well sitting around isn't doing any good." Joey stated. Soon the small group was arguing about what to do.

Yugi, who wasn't too keen on verbal confrontations, walked over to Kaiba. Kaiba hadn't noticed, because he was still staring at the cards.

"What are you looking at?" Yugi asked. Kaiba slowly pointed underneath the glass to a particular card.

"Amazon Woman? What about it?" Yugi questioned. Kaiba shrugged, for he didn't now why he was so particularly transfixed by the card.

Yet something in him knew . . . he knew what Mai's plan was. He knew what she was going to do.

"You know what Mai's going to do, don't you Yugi?" Kaiba asked without missing a beat. Yugi looked toward the group. They all seemed too anxious and confused. There was too much raw emotion spilling over to form a reasonable plan.

"Yeah, I do." he responded.

"Why are you letting her?" Kaiba asked. Yugi shrugged.

"She's the only one that can do it. That is her fight Kaiba. It always has been. All we can do now is wait. I just have a feeling that if we go there tonight . . . she'll be done for and so will Mokuba and Serenity." Yugi stated. He was full of wisdom for such a young age, and although he wouldn't tell another soul, he was halfway convinced that the wisdom was a present from the Pharaoh. It was a left over gift for Yugi to use as needed.

"I'm not sure." Kaiba said as he mimicked Yugi's pose. They were both now leaning against the glass watching everyone bicker.

"You don't need to be." was his reply.

* * *

Black tires squealed against a dark road. She turned off the engine and took a deep breath. Stepping out of the vehicle, she started walking toward the building.

On the outside were men in black suits, looking rather dangerous to her.

She could practically hear them thinking about out traitorous she is. It doesn't matter though . . . not much does.

"Excuse me boys." she told the two guards as she entered KaibaCorp. They nodded to each other and locked the doors behind her. She just kept walking without looking back.


	14. Help In The Smallest Forms

**5animefan**- Oh, thanks so much. I was afraid that it might be filler, so yay for it not being one! I agree, Mai needs to live her life and deal with her problems, and she will . . . of course not in the way that most will think of. . . duh duh duh

**Growing Pain**- I'm always over dramatic so it's all good! See I always thought that Yugi was smart, Yami or no Yami. Others might not feel the way I do, I guess, but I think Yugi has seen enough of this sort of situation and now he knows what to do. I also always saw Joey and Kaiba as rivals that hate each other . . . but deep down the can really tolerate each other. Besides, Joey has a missing sister . . . and a 'best friend' missing . . . he's got so many problems on his hands, so Kaiba wasn't his biggestworry at the time. It was good that they let some steam off on each other though.

**Doma Yuset**- In times of desperation, fear and complete confusion . . . we all need a Yoda. Yes that is all I have to say (lol)

**Reanne102**- I must say I'm so glad that you stumbled upon the story! I really appreciate your comments . . . and the fact that you couldn't stop reading it. It cheers me up! I can't guarantee a pairing right now . . . okay I can . . . but I like to make everyone wait.

**Cherryopsicle**- Don't choke! Wait until the story is over . . . actually, don't choke at all, but you get my meaning! lol! You'll find out about the picture shortly!

**Disclaimer:** YGO or Papa Roach's Scar isn't mine ( I usually don't post the whole song, but the lyrics are so appropriate that it would be a shame not too)

Notes: I was reading my previous draft of this story and was surprised to see how different this story turned out. The original was based on a Mai Joey Seto love triangle . . . and that was the whole thing. Man did that get changed around . . . my ideas changed and my muses shifted. Yet at the same time, I'm glad they did.

**  
"I tear my heart open, I sew myself shut  
My weakness is that I care too much  
And my scars remind me that the past is real  
I tear my heart open just to feel **

Drunk and I'm feeling down  
And I just wanna be alone  
I'm pissed cause you came around  
Why don't you just go home  
Cause you channel all your pain  
And I can't help you fix yourself  
You're making me insane  
**  
All I can say is tear my heart open, I sew myself shut  
My weakness is that I care too much  
And our scars remind us that the past is real  
I tear my heart open just to feel  
I tried to help you once  
Against my own advice  
I saw you going down  
But you never realized  
That you're drowning in the water  
So I offered you my hand  
Compassion's in my nature  
Tonight is our last stand  
****  
All I can say is tear my heart open, I sew myself shut  
My weakness is that I care too much  
And our scars remind us that the past is real  
I tear my heart open just to feel **

I'm drunk and I'm feeling down  
And I just wanna be alone  
You shouldn't ever come around  
Why don't you just go home?  
Cause you're drowning in the water  
And I tried to grab your hand  
And I left my heart open  
But you didn't understand  
But you didn't understand  
Go fix yourself

I can't help you fix yourself  
But at least I can say I tried  
I'm sorry but I gotta move on with my own life  
I can't help you fix yourself  
But at least I can say I tried  
I'm sorry but I gotta move on with my own life

All I can say is tear my heart open, I sew myself shut  
My weakness is that I care too much  
And our scars remind us that the past is real  
I tear my heart open just to feel

All I can say is tear my heart open, I sew myself shut  
My weakness is that I care too much  
And our scars remind us that the past is real  
I tear my heart open just to feel" Scars- Papa Roach

_The wind blew softly. She didn't mind it much though, no it wasn't a bother to her. It blew warm air toward her . . . pushing the coldness of the crisp air away.  
_

_She didn't understand how an island with long beaches, palm trees, andlush forestscould be so cold. _

_She figured it was the time of day. It was almost dusk, but not exactly. The sun only was beginning to descend into the clouds. _

_Itshot pink ,blue ,orange and purple across the sky and she half-wished that she could paint it. She knew it was a sight that few artists dream of. _

_The rolling ocean underneath matched in beauty. It seemed to be a glittery mess of blue, silver, and gray. It went on forever, at least in her opinion. Each wave that met the shore was perfectly white as if it was snow . . . which made her almost smile._

_She hadn't seen snow in a while, so she pretended it was. _

_After the water left the shore it seemed to return to the ocean, leaving dark brown marks along the beach. _

_She leaned against the rail, feeling the cold metal against her arms. _

_Her long hair blew all over in the wind, but never in her face. It was weird to her, but she ignored it. _

_Upon gazing at the view, she didn't hear the footsteps behind her._

_"Hey.'' the man said as he stood beside her, somewhat hesitant._

_She didn't answer, only continued to stare out at the sight in front of her. He cleared his throat, several times . . . hoping to get her attention. After the eighth time, she turned to him._

_"Do you need a cough drop or something?" she asked, rather annoyed at somebody interrupting her alone time. _

_"No . . . I uh just wanted to make sure that you were okay. You've been kind of out of it." he explained. She rolled her eyes and returned hergaze to her previous subject._

_He tapped his foot against the floor, waiting for her to respond. He stared at the marble texture that the floor was made out of. The thought of using that for an outside porch confused him. _

_He slowly tried to figure out how much he could sell marble on the streets while he waited._

_After a few silent moments she sighed and looked at him._

_"You're not leaving, are you?" she asked, full of anger. She wanted to be alone, and he was just crowding her._

_"No, I'm not. You've just been different since . . . I just wanted to make sure you were okay." he said, hoping that he sounded sincere and concerned. She glared and started to walk away from him._

_"Mai, wait!" he called as he chased after her. She could walk quite fast and so he had to practically jog._

_She stopped as he approached and bit her lip._

_"I'm fine . . ." she said. He nodded and threw his hands up in defeat. Chasing her was useless and he figured she'd catch up to him when she was ready. _

_"I do . . . feel different, if you must know." she responded as he started to walk away. Turning on his heel, he asked the simple question of how. _

_She shrugged and leaned against another rail. He mimicked her._

_"I'm not sure . . . confident maybe . . .um . . . more powerful. I've never felt this powerful in my life." she said sounding rather happy about the situation. He only stared at her in amusement. _

_"I think you're very powerful Mai." he responded. She shrugged in response._

_"You still defeated me Valon." she whispered as if it settled the matter. He opened his mouth as if he was going to respond, but she cut him off._

_"I was desperate . . . only a select few have beaten me. Understand that . . . I'm good. Now, I'm better. You . . . you will never see me like that again. I promise you . . . I was at the end of my rope. You helped me out . . . or whatever. That's it, so you can quit trying to make up lame excuses to talk to me. I don't want to talk to you." _

_Something in her voice made Valon doubt that, and against his brain, he continued his conversation._

_"We all get desperate Mai. So I caught you at a bad time . . . it happens." he replied casually. She stomped her foot and squeezed on the rail._

_"You don't get it. I'm never like that . . . afraid like that. I'm Mai Valentine and I don't lose. Not anymore . . . not again. I will beat you sometime Valon . . . believe that. But you are not who my target is now." she said in such a sinister voice that the birds that were nearby by flew away in a hurry. She didn't notice._

_"Mai, if you tell me what happened . . . I can help you. I can take care of whoever hurt you." he said, looking straight into her eyes. She looked away quickly and shook her head._

_"You aren't my friend Valon. I don't have friends . . . and I don't need them." she snapped back bitterly. He sighed then and frowned._

_"I'm trying to be your friend, you just won't let me. I understand now, you've got the whole cute taking on the world thing . . . I respect that, I do. But you've got to let someone close or you'll just destroy yourself. Look at what I gave you . . . what would have happened to you if I didn't find you. What . . . you had noone else . . . they didn't want you Mai. I'm telling you right now that I do . . . but you won't let me." Valon said bitterly. _

_Mai didn't budge in the slightest. She didn't blink or retaliate._

_"I don't know . . . what would have happened." she said after sometime. Valon took a deep breath and held back his urge to yell. All he wanted to do was help her . . . because somehow he felt for her. It was a feeling so confusing and so strong that nobody else could understand it . . . not even her._

_"I want to help you. I already have and you know it . . . you feel it. I gave you what you always desired, ultimate power. I'll give you time Mai. I can do that. I'll give you space . . . I'll give you whatever it is you want, but you've got to give me something . . . some sign . . . a name . . . anything." he said someone desperately._

_Mai leaned against the rail for a while, not even acknowledging his presence._

_"I'll give you a name. But that's it. I don't want you interfering either . . . I need to do this by myself." she said determinedly, moving her body so that she was standing directly in front of him instead of beside him._

_"Ok." he conceded. He knew some names, after all Dartz had to give him some of her background . . . but he knew that there had to be one person that drove her crazy. There had to be one person who tore the color away from herand stole her spirit._

_"Joey Wheeler." she said as coldly as she could. Valon nodded. _

_"Look see, wasn't so bad, was it? And think, when you defeat him . . . you'll be free of all the pain you feel. I promise you that. Then you'll have no excuse to not be friends with me, because I promise you that I won't hurt you. Not like that . . . I'm a real friend." he said. _

_"Maybe when I beat him . . . maybe." she replied and he nodded and walked away. She wanted to slap the smile off his face . . . but she made no attempt to move and watched the calmness of the ocean again.

* * *

_

Life had gone fast after that. Several days after, she was sent to attack Pegasus and her personal mission to defeat Joey Wheeler had begun.

Unfortunately, the memory of how that event turned out haunts not only her dreams, but her waking moments too.

For sometimes when he's talking to her . . . she just sees him fall . . .

She always double blinks when she talks to him too, just to adjust her vision.

That is not why she's there though. No, this battle goes far beyond the mess that is Joey Wheeler. He is, of course, involved . . . but she already suspected that.

The fact that Yugi and Joey haven't beaten up the guards and come to help her, surprised her.

Not that she needed help, no Mai Valentine was a perfectionist at being a loner. She could do this by herself, basically because she had too.

Running her hands up and down her arms, she started to walk up the steps in a very slow motion. Every few floors she saw guards staring at her.

Mai's only wish at the moment was for heat, but she found the coldness much more dramatic. The fact that she had to walk added to the experience too.

Part of her wondered if James convinced Valon to disconnect the elevators. James always had a flair for trying to freak people out. In her opinion, James should have teamed up with Marik.

That would have been a crazy team . . . the thought makes her chuckle and yet want to throw-up at the same time.

Mai sighed at the sight of the steps . . . they seemed to go on forever . . . all she wants to do is make it to the roof.

She's surprised at the lack of difficulty at the task. She thought she'd have to fight her way through dumb, yet tough, security guards. Instead she is only met by menacing glares and growls.

Mental warfare suits her though, and she just ignored all of it.

* * *

He closed his eyes and counted. It was what he often did, and nobody else would really ever understand that.

He'd breath in, then breath out . . . while counting each precious breath for he never knew when it would be his last.

He preferred the blindfolds actually. Sure, it sounded crazy, but he'd rather see the blackness than what he saw now.

He was in and out of consciousness and Serenity had stopped trying to talk to him several minutes ago. He knew she wasn't used to being kidnaped . . . or beaten.

It comes in time though, as does giving up.

Mokuba Kaiba was never known for giving up. No, he always had hope if nothing else. He had a faith in his brother that could never be broken.

Except that, after years of these situations . . . strange thoughts started to run through his head.

Especially when he knows he's been missing for quite a while now.

Mokuba has a safe bet going that he won't make it out of this situation. He's had nothing to eat for the past few days, and he's only been given moldy water to drink.

He threw most of it up.

The fact that his is tied against some sort of pole overlooking the bottom of a huge building doesn't make him any happier.

Yet it's almost kind of ironic that it would be the KaibaCorp building he would die on. Mokuba always toldKaiba the building would kill him, after all, all his brother did was work.

Mokuba always thought that working consistently without stopping would be horrible for anybody's health. No, he was the one going to die on the same roof that he used to love standing on so many days ago.

He could turn his head just a little bit to the left. He watched Valon pace back and forth, muttering to himself.

He can't see Serenity, nor can he hear her, for her voice seemed to have faded into the wind. He only does the one thing he can, hope.

Unfortunately, he's failing at it.

* * *

She can see a doorway that leads to the roof a stairwell ahead of her. Half of her wants to run to it as fast as she can, while the other wants to fall over and quit.

The pain in her side is excruciating and she wonders if the life is being drained out of her. She wanted to place her hand over her side to feel if there is blood there, but yet she doesn't.

Taking a deep breath, she leaned against the nearest wall. Everything seems to be spinning around her, but she can't give up.

She knows that.

That doesn't change the fact that her body won't let her move.

She knows she doesn't have time to waste, but movement is becoming harder for her. Besides, Yugi always seemed to have time to constantly explain the problem before saving the day.

So her taking five minutes off shouldn't hurt.

Light footsteps approached her bent over form, but she didn't move. No, a small laugh escapes her mouth. For that is all she can do now, is laugh.

"You look terrible." the man says. Again, she laughs. Tell her something she didn't already know.

"You should give up. That is what you're good at." he says, coming closer to her.

"Mai, this isn't for you. Give up, go back." he whispers now. Mai bit her lip, as hard as she could, just to make herself feel something other than the numbness that sometimes comes after horrible pain.

It was bleeding slightly and it flowed into her mouth, but she didn't care.

"Can't do that." was her feeble response. He kicked the back of her leg, and he's quite surprised that she didn't fall over.

"You love dramatics, don't you Mai. I always knew you'd never go through with it. You never had the guts, or the power. . . " he started to say, but he found himself caught off guard when Mai pushed herself off of the wall and kicked him so that he was huddled on the floor.

"I've always had the power James. You haven't. You're just a pawn . . . a useless pawn . . . who got a little taste of power. Do you know what it really tastes like? Do you want to? I can show you." she replied cruelly as he tried to pull himself up.

It wasn't that she kicked him that hard, it was just the tone of her voice was like a icy cold liquid that numbed him.

He was more powerful than her, at least he always believed that. He tried to push himself up, but Mai wasn't going to accept that.

Instead, she pulled something out of her pocket and pointed it at him. Her smile had grown and he was now the one scaredon thefloor.

"Tell me James, who has the power?" her cold voice asked him. The gun was only inches away from him, and he was too desperate to move.

"You do."

* * *

It was decided, amongst all of them and after some time, to go to Kaiba Corp. No real plan was formulated though, and Joey had said that they were to wing it.

Of course, risking their lives for others was nothing new to them, except for Abby. It took some extra coxing to convince her to help, but she did anyway.

Kaiba, who usually argued with Joey, had become unusually silent. He only gave a few nods here and there, but other than that he seemed rather mechanical.

Even Yugi's constant assurance didn't penetrate him. It was if Yugi's words meant nothing. Something was going to happen, and he didn't know what.

His doubts bothered him. He was scared. Not for himself, no he had passed that stage. He was scared for his brother.

His brother was his life . . . and he could die.

He knew that Joey was afraid for his sister. Yet, he didn't know how much Joey was afraid. He figured that Joey wore his heart on his sleeve, but that was it.

He wondered if Joey's feelings ran deeper than that, much like his own. Not that Kaiba enjoyed thinking of ways Joey and himself were similar, but it kind of helped that there was at least someone that could understand the intensity of the situation.

They all silently squished into the small car, so that there wasn't any breathing room, but they somehow managed.

The car ride there was filled with Kaiba talking about the layout of his building and certain passwords and such things that only they found important. Of course, when this was all over, he told himself that everything would have to be changed immediately.

When they arrived, they all saw the Viper parked perfectly. It was rather amusing that with everything going on, that a main concern was perfectly parking the vehicle.

"Okay, I really think we should stay together." Tea suggested while fear flooded her voice. Tristan gave a hearty nod in agreement.

"Are we too late?" Duke asked. Yugi noticed the guards and mouthed the word no.

Kaiba however, wasn't paying attention to them. Instead, his focus was a dark figure on top of the roof.

The others had started to walk off without him, and he finally noticed. The guards were easily taken care of by Tristan with a few swings of his fist.

Upon entering though, that was different.

The once empty room that Mai had found herself was now filled with guards dressed in black. A huge fight broke out and Tea and Abby had rushed off to a secret passageway that Kaiba had told them about.

Kaiba himself, dodged in between the fighting without anyone noticing. He ran up the stairs, unfazed by the guards that were dashing down them.

Instead, he followed the sound of crying, just in case it was his brother.

Instead he found something quiet different.

Mai was standing over a quivering man who seemed to be begging for his life.

"Mai." Kaiba called, as if he was trying to pull her out of a trance. He saw her shoulders drop and she let a sigh escape her lips. She didn't look at him though.

"Kaiba." she replied in a singsong voice. Kaiba looked at her shockingly.

"He's not worth it." Kaiba said through gritted teeth. Mai laughed.

"Isn't he? He was one of the ones who helped capture your brother. He's just been telling me all about it while at gunpoint. Fascinating story really." Mai responded.

The man only let his fresh tears fall into a new puddle on the carpet.

Kaiba didn't answer, he only turned his head while the gun was fired.

The sound went through Kaiba'smind and for some reason he flinched. He didn't know why, but he did. The man, to his surprise, was not dead.

He was crying harder than ever.

"I wasn't going to kill him." Mai said as she put the gun away and looked at Kaiba. Some of James blood had splattered onto her, but she didn't notice.

"Just hurt him a little." she elaborated as she shook her head toward the hole in his shoulder.

"Why are you here?" she asked, annoyed.

"You knocked me out." Kaiba said, as if that was a answer. Mai shrugged.

"I'll do it again." was her careless response.

"I came to help my brother." Kaiba added. Mai nodded.

"I've got this. Go help the others, they need it . . . don't ask me how I know you're not alone. I just do. They're probably looking for you as we speak. But if I'm not back in half and hour . . . then come up . . . if you have too." she instructed.

Kaiba usually wasn't one to take orders from anybody, but right then at that point he nodded. He was staring at Mai with a different type of light.

Somewhere deep inside of him, he felt she could pull this off. Hethought she could do it. . . but he was ready to take over when she fell.

She had an unusual aura around her, one that she didn't have since Battle City.

"Half an hour . . . that's all you get Valentine. I'm trusting you, don't prove me wrong." was his only sullen response as he dashed down the stairs to the others. Mai quietly thanked him as she turned around and marched up the stairs to face what she hoped wasn't her doom.

She stretched her hand to the door, feeling the coldness of it. This was it, there was no turning back from it now. She felt for the doorknob, disturbed from the sudden darkness. She found it and swung the door open forcefully and shut it quietly behind her.

She walked toward the center of the roof in complete darkness. Suddenly lights flashed and everything was covered in a eerie yellow.

There were lights at ever corner of the roof, and in-between the corners.

She glanced over and saw two poles hanging over the side. They were a good distance away from each other, but she could plainly see what was tied to them.

It was Mokuba and Serenity, tied up and apparently knocked out. It took everything she had not to run over to them, to free them . . . but her feet stayed rooted to the spot, for he was in plain sight now.

He was breathing harder and a darkness seemed to fill him so that his eyes were black. She quickly wondered if that is what Joey saw when he looked at her, but pushed the question in the back of her mind.

"So you came." was all that he said. His voice seemed deeper than usual, but it still held his unmistakable accent, the one so many girls feel in love with.

"You know me Valon, I can't back away from a challenge." she responded. He gave a very small laugh and looked down at the ground.

For some reason, she knew what he wanted . . . what he called her up here for.

"What's in it for you? We both know that you never do anything unless something's in it for you. Do you honestly think saving those two kids will clear your record?" Valon asked.

Mai shook her head.

"No . . . my record is stained. We know that. . . but I can't change that now. All I can do is make it better." Mai explained.

"I think you're lying . . . " Valon practically sang. Mai shook her head again.

"No, no lie." was her simple retort.

"Why do it? Why go through these power struggles? Just pick a side Mai . . . just pick one. You know you'll be back later." Valon coaxed. Mai rolled her eyes.

"I'm done with it, this time . . . I'm serious." was her response.

"I've heard you say that so many times Mai. . . and yet you always waver. You always choose the side that works for you. Playing for your own team right? Isn't that what you do? You don't care how many hearts you step on on the way . . . " Valon said before he could control it.

"We haven't had hearts for a long time sweetheart . . . all we've had was each other and some very good alcohol, but that's over now. I guarantee it. . . you don't know me anymore Valon. But finally, after all this time, I know me. I'm screwed up and I need help, but I know me." she said with such raw emotion to her voice that Valon had to blink a few times.

"Who are you?" he asked out of curiosity.

"I am the one and only Mai Valentine. I did some things, most I'm not proud of . . . but that doesn't matter now. You used me, several times . . . I get that. I get you and I can help you." she replied rather desperately. Valon laughed.

"Help me? How are you going to help me? You can't even help yourself? You know we could be thousands of miles away from here on some warm beach and instead you went all noble." Valon spat out madly.

"We already did that Valon . . . living on a huge island with long beaches. And I remember looking into the sky dying to feel some warmth from the sun but feeling nothing. . . like something was missing. . . and it was. It still would be . . . it still is." she explained, breaths coming far and in between words.

"What? What could you possibly be missing?" Valon asked. Mai shook her head.

"I don't know yet. Someday I will though . . . but not now." she answered, " Now are you going to release them and let me help you? We can walk away from this Valon.'' she coaxed.

"You can't help me Mai . . . you're words are, they're tempting, but they're lies. I couldn't help you, not like I wanted too, you wouldn't let me . . . and when you did I failed. We can't help each other Mai." he stated. Mai shook her head.

"Yes, we could . . . but _you_ won't let _me_. We started this thing together, and now we'll end it." she yelled at him.

"That we did, are you ready for the deal now?" Valon asked, he decided to change the subject in case he did give into her. Mai shook her head and pulled out her gun. Valon was shocked for half a second before regaining himself.

"Yeah and here is how it's going to go. We duel, if I win . . . you let them go and you let me help you. If you win . . . then you'll get what you wanted for a while. No, not power . . . but you'll get me. Utterly, completely. I won't sway and nobody else will ever get me. I'll always be on your side forever more . . . because if you win, you get to kill me." she said in a business like matter and it showed that rising to power was quite easy for her.

"Why would . . . I can't . . . " Valon started to say, but Mai raised an eyebrow.

"Are you scared? Don't you want me? Because if you don't do it . . . I will." she said, holding the gun up to her head.

"Stop . . . I'll do it." he called out suddenly. She smiled.

She played a twisted game, he knew it. She was as twisted as he was.

Valon, who was prepared for a duel, threw a dueldisk at her. She caught it in midair.

Mai pulled out her old cards with the bent edges and placed them on the dueldisk.

He didn't exactly care for the terms, but he was going to do it. Mai was right, she was giving him what he wanted, even if it was tainted.

That's what he gave her, right? Power . . . fueled by rage and jealously, but power nonetheless. No, it didn't matter if it was tainted, they saw past that.

Nobody else could understand the speciality of the dangerous game they played. Dartz may be gone, but his influence still remained.

Valon looked at Mai and he can see the determinedness in her eyes. He has always hated himself for taking the color away from her.

Now he will permanently . . . but she will be his. That's what he wanted.

She won't beat him, no . . . he can't see that happening.

They are to consumed by power and control to let this game become one-sided. Mai is in for the duel of her life, and he knows it . . . he found himself prepared for it.

Mai is taking deep breaths and he knows that she is in a lot of pain. He wanted to feel sorrow, but the only feelings in him are power, rage, lust and a small tinge of sadness.

"Time to duel." Mai said and it seemed to him rather far away. Her voice had regained some sort of unknown strength that she had never used against him. He nodded and strapped the duel disk on himself, amused by the familiarity that flooded him.

The insane desire to win had overcome him fully now, and he was ready.

Mai on the other hand, was trying her hardest not to succumb to the pain that she felt. No, if she had to go, this is the way she'd want it to happen.

Risking her life for others that are much more important than herself . . . yeah, she could be proud of that. Pride was a feeling that she hadn't really felt since that fatefully day when Joey beat her and figured out her perfume secret.

A small smile crossed her face. Valon had started their whole relationship, for a lack of words, by dueling. She knew that he cornered her at the worst time possible then, but now things were different. She was stronger than ever, because she had a purpose.

If she did lose, then she would die . . . it was simple enough, in her opinion. The others would rush up the stairs to find her body and to save Mokuba and Serenity. She would at least buy them some time.

If she won, they were saved and maybe Valon could be saved too. Yet looking at him across the rooftop, somewhere deep inside Mai thought it was too late to save him.

She felt that way about herself sometimes too. She had dabbled into evil so much that it was hard for her to stay away from it. The power called her and she was addicted.

Not even the best of people can walk away from that. Mai would like to be the first, but she knows its impossible.

All she knows is that if she had to die tonight . . . she wouldn't want to die any other way. At one point, all she had was Valon and even though she didn't admit it . . . she would have been lost without him . . . and at that point of such desperation and loathing she had loved him.

It was indeed tainted by the evilness that they shared, but she did love him. He was always there to back her up or to protect her. She never really acted on the feeling, after all her mind was always elsewhere. He knew that . . .

But that was ages ago, and Mai seemed to have changed again. She wasn't being controlled by an ancient force, and for the first time in a while, she wasn't controlled by anyone. It was a hard idea for her to grasp, but she did anyway.

Did she love Valon anymore? No, she didn't. He was in her past and he should have stayed there. Of course, when they were living together . . . she did feel more than friendship . . . but that was months ago.

Ever since he betrayed her and his cloud of perfection was lifted over her eyes, she quit. Cold turkey.

She now felt for him, because she believes she's the only one who knows what he feels like. But she doesn't love him and never will again. That's not who she is anymore.

No, she's someone greater than that . . . even if she is screwed up and in desperate need of help. Mai feels for Valon but she isn't sure what the feeling is.

It's strange and confusing, but it's a feeling the two can only share. There aren't any words to describe it and Mai doubts she'll ever want to think of words too.

It's a power in itself, dark and mysterious, but she preferred it that way.

If she beat him tonight, she would finally defeat a part of herself that has been beginning for darker things. Mai's wanted to do that for a long time.

She gave Valon a small little smile and stood up straighter. Maybe she's a glutton for punishment . . . maybe she's brave or crazy . . . but whatever she is, Valon has indirectly taught her that she has to face up to it.

Unbeknownst to her, in a few rooms below, a clock on a forgotten laptop continues to countdown.


	15. Ticking Clocks

Meaningless notes: This chapter sucks. I'm serious. I had the absolute hardest time writing it. It wouldn't write itself, so I had to rack my brain for it to be done . . . hence the length of delivery. I wanted to put a small part in here about how Mai has to defeat the Harpy Lady she gave Valon, which in way lets her defeat a part of herself, but I am incapable of writing a good duel . . . so it was sadly left out. Sorry, but the next chapter is practically dying to be put on paper . . . er . . . computer . . . so I hope it will be easier. But you never know.

Reanne1102-** Yes, past tense . . . but it's good to know that, I feel anyway. I'm glad you like the way I write . . . for some reason, most of my things tend to be a little bit dark, oh well. Sorry about the waiting, but I'm really busy and with spring vacation, I won't be posting a chapter for a while after this one. Um chapters, honestly, I have no idea how many more. It depends, I don't want to drag it out any more than it needs to be, but I want to wrap everything up clearly, ya know what I mean? So, I can't really tell you . . . except that there shouldn't be a whole lot. (How vague was that?) I can tell that after vacation I should have a general idea of how many more to go. Who knows maybe 2 or 3 . . . but I can't see more than 5. Nope, wow, my reply was long! Thanks for your review!**

MissDomaYuset- **Um, sorry about the stress . . . but what do you think Kaiba must feel like? (lol) Basically, Kaiba had money and power . . . so that's how he was dragged into it, Mokuba on the other hand, was kidnaped so that Valon could get back at Mai. Oh and Kaiba did get Mai upset so she took revenge, but she was still kind of evil then. You will find out about the timer soon. Yes you will. Perhaps this chapter!**

Growing Pain- **See the thing is is that I did proofread, but I have a grammar checking thing on my computer and it just wasn't working. Then I would try save it, and then it would freeze. So I'd have to do it again. Maybe I just type too fast and oh I don't know. Didn't mean it really, but I'll watch out carefully for it from now on instead of sharing my anger over my computer and the fact that I can never save everything . . . grr . . . I just overlooked it, so sorry about that. **

**The thing with Kaiba is that it's so _hard_ to write him in character. I needed Mai to be alone with Valon yes, but you must remember, would Kaiba really . . . truly, deep down let Mai 'save' his brother? Do you Kaiba would actually wait for her . . . or do you think that he will find a way to save his brother, perhaps while she is . . . oops, giving too much away. (Between you and me . . . and everyone else really, he was lying.) He thought that it was a good thing for Mai to go off and fight her own battles . . . but I can say nothing more on this matter, although I'm dying too. **

**As for whom Mai will end with . . . yeah I can't answer that either. I can safely say that she won't end with Valon, no that ship has sailed and hints have been dropped. Valon has also been like his own roller coaster with me, he has so many emotions going on at once that I don't even know if he knows what he's doing half the time, huh, we've got something in common (lol)**

**I love angst too . . . maybe even too much. Although, I think I would like to try my hand at writing a somewhat happy type ending . . . or not, I can't really say. Thanks for the review, hey my response was really long. Huh weird. **

5animefan- **I couldn't agree with you more. Mai is such a interesting character and there should be so many more fics with her in it! She could really go with anybody. I think it'd be funny to see a Mai and Bakura story myself, but hey that's just me. Not that I ship them or anything, it would amuse me. Anyhow, I do like angst, but I said earlier to Growing Pain that I want to try my hand at writing a happy ending. It won't be a typical happy ending though . . . but I have said and still do that Mai will end up with somebody . . . yes she will. Also she'll be happy, so that works for me. It will be different though, not really a typical 'girl gets the guy and runs off to live happily ever after' ending, but it is something that she accepts and oops giving too much away. I have to stop doing that!**

cherryopsicle- **Thanks, I'm glad that it shocked you at least a little. I don't like the thought of blood either, I can't even see it because I get queasy! It's kind of pathetic really. Sorry my response to you isn't as long as the other ones . . . don't take it personally. I have nothing new to say that I haven't already said . . . and THANKS!**

"You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow. You only get one opportunity."  
Eminem- Lose Yourself

"She's the one who saw my words  
Broken, Torn at the seams  
And broken words were all she heard  
Now she's walking away from me_"  
_Finger Eleven- Broken Words_  
_

**Disclaimer:** Nope, YGO still isn't mine. Neither are the songs.

Panic, fear and slight nausea ran through him. He was unlike other men of his age. He always considered himself extremely mature in every sense of the word . . . physical, emotional, mental . . . in his mind, he was practically flawless. The fact that there was such a rush of unfamiliar feelings traveling through him all at once annoyed him.

He was supposed to be perfect . . . the hero. It didn't matter if he was a hero to Yugi or any of his so-called friends, it only mattered to Mokuba. If Kaiba was Mokuba's hero, then his job was done. Being weak like he was, wasn't making him seem very heroic.

The fact that his hidden weaknesses were becoming obvious sickened him. He wanted to puke until all the life was out of him and he was dead in a corner somewhere.

Mokuba always said the building would kill him. He remembers laughing the young boy off and dismissing him. He wished he didn't.

He ran down the stairs as fast as he could manage, occasionally missing five or six steps altogether. It was miraculous that he didn't fall down all of them, but he wasn't thinking of that.

He was thinking of someone else . . . the one thing that his world revolved around. Mokuba Kaiba.

He finally reached the bottom of the steps, once he pushed whatever it was that was trying to rise through his stomach, down. He thought it seemed like hours, when his disappearance was only five minutes.

There were a few unconscious guards on the ground, but other than that the room seemed empty. The only occupant was Joey and he seemed to be breathing heavily.

Kaiba assumed the others vanished off into other sides of the building.

Kaiba stood on the bottom step for a second and Joey looked up at him. The usual humor that surrounded Joey was missing and he seemed angry and perhaps a little lost.

"Where did you go?" Joey asked bitterly. Kaiba shrugged.

"None of your business. Where's everyone else?" Kaiba asked. He remained in his similar position and it was up to Joey to cross the room.

"I don't know. They spilt up . . . hopefully looking for my sis and Mokuba." Joey answered rather blandly, if that is possible. Kaiba nodded.

"Fine." he said while glancing down at his watch. Mai still had 25 minutes to come through with their deal . . . her deal.

"Well we should be looking too." huffed Joey, for he was sick of waiting. It didn't make sense to him how everyone always waited for everything. Joey Wheeler was a man of action and he intended to take some.

"Fine." Kaiba answered again, without moving. He could tell from Joey's muttering that he wanted him to move, but he remained unresponsive.

"This isn't the time to be stupid Kaiba." Joey said as he tried to push him out of the way.

"What's your excuse then?" Kaiba asked. Joey could feel his fists clenching. He could feel words of hurt and anger trying to rise in him, but he bit them all back . . . literally. He bit his tongue so hard so that he couldn't retaliate.

Joey wasn't one to let Kaiba push him around, no, but he didn't want to waste time on petty arguments either. He didn't have the time.

"We can't go that way Wheeler." Kaiba said. Joey raised an eyebrow.

"Why not?" he asked.

"Because there is another way to get onto the roof. It's more secretive than the regular way." Kaiba explained quickly. Kaiba then moved and started to walk briskly toward a door on the other side of the room. Joey remained rather still.

"What do you know Kaiba?" Joey asked, turning on his heel for effect. Kaiba rolled his eyes.

"A lot, Mai can only distract Valon for so long. This way I can sneak up there and save Mokuba." Kaiba hastily explained.

"Does she know she's your distraction?" Joey asked. It didn't seem like something Mai would agree too. Honestly Joey couldn't see Kaiba making deals with Mai either.

"No, she didn't need to." Kaiba said as he opened the door and started walking down a deserted hallway. Against Joey's best instincts, he followed.

"You're using her?" Joey questioned. His breathing was becoming harder and he was starting to feel a certain anger toward Kaiba.

He nodded. He didn't know why he was explaining things to Joey, but he wasn't really thinking at the moment. No, he was determined to get to his brother and that is all that mattered.

Besides, the answers flooded out of him and it didn't take him anytime at all to respond.

"So she's up with Valon all alone and you just let her go . . . just so you could save your brother?" Joey reviewed.

"Yeah. She's got her own problems. I've got mine. She's done far worse than I have and I've had enough of your questions Wheeler. I am going to save my brother by myself. I said I didn't need anyone, and I don't.'' Kaiba exclaimed. His voice was becoming harsher. Joey was starting to annoy him now, and it was odd that it took so long.

Joey didn't say anything for sometime.

"You can't risk her life for Mokuba's. I have to go help her." Joey asked. Kaiba shrugged.

"But is she worth risking your sister's? If you trust her that much, fine. I just know that I will stop at nothing to save my brother and if either of you thinks I'm going to wait around for her to do it, then neither of you know me at all, or at least you don't pay any attention." Kaiba said bitterly as he started to climb a ladder.

Joey sighed and watched Kaiba climb momentarily.

He admitted, only to himself, that Kaiba had a point.

* * *

"Stop pushing."

"I'm not."

"Hey that's not my hand."

"I'm not touching you."

"If you touch there again, I'm punching you."

"For the last time, I'm not touching you anywhere. I would never want to touch you anywhere!"

The voices echoed down the dark corridor. For some reason there wasn't any light. Duke assumed it was because the particular passageway was supposed to be secret. It was supposed to lead to the main computer room.

They, as in Duke and Tristan, were supposed to meet up with Yugi there. Then hopefully, along with the help of Rebecca via the internet, they could brake the code on Kaiba's computers.

Duke didn't know Tea and Abby's mission and he guessed they were sent to look for Serenity. He didn't have any actual clues though.

He was becoming frustrated. Tristan kept bumping into him and insisting that it wasn't him. Duke knew that there wasn't anyone in the said corridor. He also knew that if Tristan touched him again then he might injure him.

Tristan on the other hand, was becoming annoyed with Duke's constant anger. He couldn't help that he couldn't see and he wasn't touching Duke on purpose.

No, Tristan wasn't interested in Duke in any form other than some sort of friendship and he was trying to save the girl he loved . . . the girl that hopefully loved him and not Duke.

Even if Serenity didn't love him, he would eventually get through the pain as long as she didn't pick Duke. That might kill him . . . or mentally destroy him. Whichever is worse for him, he didn't know.

"There's a light ahead." Duke said happily. It was faint and came from under a door, but it was still a light.

Tristan could barely see the keypad. Luckily Duke remembered the password and was able to type it in.

They entered the computer room and to their surprise Abby, Tea and Yugi were ahead of them. Tea, although worried, was laughing in the corner uncontrollably.

Yugi kept typing in things, but his face was somewhat red. Abby kept shaking her head and laughing under her breath.

"What's going on?" Tristan asked, for he saw no humor in the situation. Tea took a deep breath.

"What was it that you were touching Tristan?" she asked through a fit of giggles. Tristan turned several shades of red and muttered an obscene word.

"Sorry . . . it's just that we could uh hear your unique conversation for a while now." Tea explained.

Duke and Tristan quickly walked to the direct opposite sides of the room, both slightly embarrassed and annoyed, mostly with Tea than with each other.

She was the one who pointed their small argument out after all.

"Tea, it was funny, but it might not be good that we heard them." Yugi said after sometime. He had contacted Rebecca and she was looking at him though one of the computers. Luckily Kaiba had a web cam.

"Why not?" Abby asked.

"Because that could mean that somebody else did." Yugi said. He was trying to listen to Rebecca's directions and finally they worked.

"Yes." Yugi exclaimed. They were finally back on Kaiba's own personal network.

"Okay, let's see what's going on in the building, shall we?" Yugi asked.

The others nodded in anticipation. Suddenly video monitors that were not working due to the virus, were running again.

They were able to see what was going on.

"Okay Yug, I'll look for Serenity and Mokuba." Tristan said automatically as he gazed at all of the different screens. Tea walked over to help him with his task.

Yugi, on the other hand, was trying to break some other type of code . . . one that would hopefully destroy the virus for good. That way they could determine where the money was spent, how much and at what time. He didn't know if Kaiba needed to know any of that, but it wouldn't hurt to have the information.

After all, Valon was technically the owner of KaibaCorp as of the present time and Yugi had hoped that once he was one the main computer that he could hack into Valon's.

Unfortunately he had the hacking and overall computer skills of a small deer mouse and was solely dependant on Rebecca. He could do the basic things, like typing letters, playing cards, chatting, but other than that he was pretty lost. If the internet connection was interrupted, Yugi had no back up plan.

"I don't see them, do you Tea?" Tristan asked. She shook her head and looked around the monitors.

"Hey what's that?" she asked, pointing to one of the screens. Tristan shrugged his shoulders and asked Yugi if they could get a close-up on the screen.

Yugi asked Rebecca how to and she quickly told him.

The small group gathered around the screen as Yugi zoomed in.

"It's just a laptop Tea." Abby said after sometime. Tea gave a small apologetic smile for wasting a few minutes by looking at something as irrelevant as that.

"Wait." Duke said before everyone started to move amongst themselves.

"What do you see?" Yugi asked, who unfortunately, couldn't see the image as well as the others because of his small height problem.

"Just doesn't make sense that it would be lying there on the floor." Duke said. Tristan shrugged and found in unimportant.

"Is that, is that a timer?" Duke asked after a closer observation. Suddenly his eyes became wide with fear.

"Why would there be a timer?" Duke asked.

"I don't know." Abby said as the room became filled with silence.

"Do you think counting down to something?" Tea asked.

"Obviously, but to what?" Tristan exclaimed a little harsher than he had meant too.

Yugi was now determined to find out.

"Okay, keep looking for Mokuba and Serenity. I'll try and see if I can get what's on that screen on mine." Yugi instructed as he once again turned to Rebecca.

* * *

Joey made some sort of odd grumbling sound. How he found himself climbing a ladder after Kaiba was even strange to him.

Joey trusted Mai. He really did. He knew that he did . . . just not enough to save his sister.

Okay, he knows that Mai turned over a new leaf. He gets that . . . and it's about time in his opinion. But the thing about Mai that worries him is her insecurity and her tendency to change sides when it benefits her.

Or at least that is what he told himself as he followed Kaiba. No, he wasn't listening to Kaiba. Kaiba's words didn't mean a thing to him . . . no matter how right they might be.

Might is the key word.

Joey saw Kaiba glance down at him once, and only once. He didn't care though, he wasn't doing this to prove anything to moneybags.

He was doing this to save his sister, because that is Joey's role in life. When the world lets her down, hehas determined to make it right.

He likes his role, the big, supportive older brother. He thinks he does okay . . . except in these types of situations where he feels his doing an absolutely horrible job.

If he had only payed more attention to Serenity than chasing after Mai then . . . well, that's always been his problem, at least in Tristan's opinion.

Joey always has chased after Mai. He can't help it. He tried. He really did try to ignore her. Forgetting about her was a totally absurd though. He thought about her all the time when she returned.

They weren't always nice thoughts, but they were thoughts.

He didn't choose Mai, even though he knows that's what everyone else thinks. No, if he had to choose right now between Mai and Serenity, well he would pick Serenity.

He figured he kind of just made that choice, but he doesn't know if it counts.

Joey has learned a lot of hard lessons, but one of them is that things get worse before they get better.

He just wonders how much Mai can fall before she can build herself back up again . . . and his thoughts slowly, somehow, return to Mai again. He always hated how he did that.

He glanced up at Kaiba again, it wasn't a lovely view, but he wanted to know just how many more steps he would have to climb.

* * *

It was her turn. The air around her was cold. She could see her own breath form in front of her. She could see his too.

Her hand shakily reached for her next card. It was a good thing that dueling was like riding a bike, hardly forgotten once one started back up.

Sure, she was a little dusty, after all she swore to herself that she was never going to duel again. She also remembers telling herself that she would never do anything stupid again either.

She found that she was braking two different promises over her stay in Domino.

Then again, life can never be boring or simple . . . especially when planning corporate takeovers.

"Scared Mai?" Valon asked across the rooftop.

Mai looked up at him, temporally forgetting where she was. She rolled her eyes and glanced at her hand.

She had a few good cards, but a few good cards couldn't really help her now. No she needed a plan, a strategy, she needed . . . advice.

It was always hard for her, at any age, to get advice over anything. Dueling was a prime example of this. She taught herself, and worked hard, to become the most famous duelist in the world.

Sometimes she remembers that dream, other times she considers it a nightmare . . . but that belongs in the past.

Thinking about how things used to be, how she used to feel, won't help her win. She knows it.

Sighing she placed a card face down. They are tied so far, but she knows from experience that each move counts for so much more than expected.

Valon leaned back and fourth on his feet and Mai wondered slightly if he is drunk at least a little bit. She considered asking him and then decided against it.

Her hand is basically unplayable. She doesn't know what Valon has instore, all she knows is that it will be a challenge to overcome.

But then, maybe she's not supposed to. Maybe she's not supposed to save the day and get the glory. Maybe she's not supposed to receive redemption. Maybe she is supposed to die on top of the KaibaCorp roof tonight.

Mai doesn't know the answer, but the thoughts continue to travel through her brain making her doubtful.

She never was the one to save anybody. She was the one to cause pain and . . .

"Mai." Valon called. She looked up and he waved a card in front of her face.

It was time to stop thinking and start playing.

* * *

Although he never felt any type of love toward his stepfather, the man did teach him some things. A main thing he learned was determination.

Kaiba lived his life by being determined.

He wasn't going to change now.

His palms were somewhat sweaty and the metal bars were cold against his skin, but he kept climbing.

Finally, after what seemed like a century, he reached a place where his head bumped some sort of wall.

He held on with his left hand and pushed the wall in various places with his right. There wasn't much light, so he had to feel for whatever it was that he was feeling for.

Eventually, to his delight, and to Joey's, he found a small handle. Using great force, he grabbed the handle and pushed on it.

It opened, reveling darkness and cement.

Kaiba walked out first and looked around. He didn't wait for Joey. When Joey arose from the pathway, Kaiba grabbed him and pulled him behind some sort of box.

Luckily in concealed them both.

Joey glanced around nervously, which was an odd thing for him to do. Yet, whenever his sister was involved, he was often nervous.

He peered around the side of the box and his eyes were immediately drawn to two large poles. He could feel his legs pushing him off of the ground before anything else, but for some reason, he also felt as though he was being held back.

Kaiba had a firm grip on his shoulder and Joey pushed him off.

"You can't just run over there." Kaiba whispered harshly. Joey rolled his eyes.

"Why not?" he asked. Kaiba bit the inside of his lip and fought back the urge to hit Joey. Somewhere inside of his head, a small voice said that Joey wasn't worth it . . . and he was trying to listen to that voice.

Kaiba pulled Joey around the corner of the box. Joey's eyes opened wider, if possible at the sight before him.

He was witnessing the duel between Valon and Mai, and Mai seemed to be losing.

"We've got to be quiet . . . I'm not sure if that's possible for you though . . . but it's what you have to do." Kaiba instructed. He was full of disgust.

Most of it was toward Joey, but some of it was for the way things turned out . . . how out of control they became.

Joey, desperate to insult 'Moneybags' in any form, held back his quips. Serenity's safety was more important than insulting Kaiba, no matter how much he wanted too.

Joey, instead, nodding and crawled behind Kaiba.

He didn't know how they were going to be kept hidden, but he guessed they would just try to stay out of the dim light that flooded the rooftop.

He could hear Valon's voice drifting through the background. He decided he should ignore it, because he knew if he didn't, then they would be caught for sure.

He wasn't exactly good at being quiet.

His eyes keep sneaking to the battlefield, and only his determination was making them move back.

"You shouldn't have gone through with this duel Mai." Valon said in the background. He was full of an older confidence that he had lost years ago.

"You can't beat me. You never have." he continued to say. His words, to his surprise, were bouncing off of Mai.

It was her physical pain that was making it hard for her to stand up, not her weakness to him. She gazed at the cards in her hand.

Suddenly a small noise drew her attention. It sounded like something fell over, and both she and Valon turned to look.

They didn't see anything except for a small crate falling over. Valon tried to see more, but the lighting was blurring in with the shadows and it was nearly impossible.

"What was that?" he asked. Mai shrugged.

"Mice." she answered through pursed lips. He rolled his eyes.

"You expect me to believe mice? It doesn't matter . . . because whoever it is can't help you now." Valon said rather excitedly. Mai stood up a little bit straighter.

"Maybe, they aren't trying to help me." was her response. Valon glared at her before looking away. They heard a small breaking sound, along with a scratching one.

They then heard a small thud, as if someone fell down.

"No, it doesn't sound like it." Valon noted halfheartedly.

"I lay this face down." Mai said, while she put a Harpy Lady in attack mode.

Valon gave a fake smile.

"You know, whoever is over there should show themselves, after all this is a great duel. But it doesn't matter. They can try to get out . . . but I doubt they will in time." he said.

"Time for what?" Mai asked.

Valon smiled, and his eyes became wider. His grin seemed sinister and dark, besides that a small chuckle bellowed from some place within him.

"The bomb." was his simple answer as he laid the card down. He sounded so civilized, as if it wasn't a big matter at all.

Mai froze.

"Bomb?" she asked, fear flooding the field. It seemed to be the response he wanted as he nodded.


	16. Explosion

**Rant**: Okay, I have to say this . . . does anyone know how hard it is to find YGO quotes on the internet? It's horribly hard . . . first of all, I can't remember exactly what the characters say and I own a few YGO episodes . . . plus I don't have enough time to actually watch them just to find the quotes. So I said to myself, why not use the power of the internet? It failed me . . . I mean I found a lot of Joey quotes . . . but no Valon or Dartz or even Marik quotes and that is what I wanted. ( They had to deal with Mai.) AHHHH! Rant done, thanks for reading if you did.

**Real Notes:** This is a rather long chapter and I was listening to Evanescence while I wrote it, so I wonder if that reflected it in anyway. I really wanted to sum everything up so that I could make the next chapter the last, but I'm not sure if I will do that now or not. Most likely yes . . . but I'm not sure. Thanks to my ever so lovely reviewers again, I love you all! (The show has more funny moments than my fic does, but I did try to put some funny stuff in other chapters, I think. I found the Duke/Tristan ordeal in the passageway funny. There isn't anything funny here, at least I don't think extremly funny.)

MissDomaYuset- **Depends what you think bad is.**

Cherryopsicle- **Okay thanks . . . oh I didn't take it as a flame. I'm really laid-back like that. Anyway, I think the problem with that chapter was it was so hard for me to write because I forced myself to do it. I knew that I needed a chapter that got Kaiba and Joey on the roof and the bomb to finally be revealed . . . but it was tough. That was my problem, I think. Hopefully this one is better.**

Reanne1102- **Everyone one is screwed, that's like my whole life message. (lol . . . I mean nobody is screwed and they all live happily ever after with white picket fences and perfect children . . . ) Yeah I'm a 'darker type' person, I write darker fics . . . and I read them. It's not that I don't like happy fluffiness, I can only handle it in very small amounts because most of the time it's ridiculously unreal.**

Growing Pain-**Why thank you so much! I'm sure there will be more action in this chapter . . . at least I think there is! Yeah . . . oh and you don't have to apologize . . . don't worry about it. I'm just glad that everyone was in character. Kaiba to me always seemed intelligent . . . so I thought that him lying a little to get his way wasn't anything out of the ordinary. Kaiba, sometimes, gets so caught up in life that I think he can forget what's important to him . . . and then horrible things happen and he seems to remember. So that's good. (I love sibling love too . . . so hey look that was positive! Yay!) The funny thing is is that I'm not a usually depressed person, I'm not the world's greatest cheerleader either . . . but I'm usually content. Oh and you don't sound old at all, because I say holy cow too . . . so it's all good! (unless we both sound old)**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own YGO or anything relating to it. I don't own any of the songs I made reference to down below, I just thought they fit . . . and there are a lot of songs that fit with this chapter, but I picked verses from three.

"And I'd give up forever to touch you  
'Cause I know that you feel me somehow  
You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be  
And I don't want to go home right now  
And all I can taste is this moment  
And all I can breathe is your life  
'Cause sooner or later it's over  
I just don't want to miss you tonight

And I don't want the world to see me  
'Cause I don't think that they'd understand  
When everything's made to be broken  
I just want you to know who I am

And you can't fight the tears that ain't coming  
Or the moment of truth in your lies  
When everything feels like the movies  
And you bleed just to know you're alive" **Goo Goo Dolls, Iris**

"I tried to kill the pain,  
But only brought more.  
So much more  
I'm dying, and I'm pouring, crimson regret, and betrayal.

I'm dying,  
Praying,  
Bleeding,  
Screaming.  
Am I too lost to be saved ?  
Am I too lost ?

My God! My Tourniquet,  
Return to me salvation.  
My God! My Tourniquet,  
Return to me salvation.

Do you remember me ?  
Lost for so long.  
Will you be on the other side ?  
Will you forgive me ?" **Evanescence, Tourniquet**

"And it's been awhile  
Since I could hold my head up high  
And it's been awhile  
Since I first saw you  
And it's been awhile  
Since I could stand on my own two feet again  
And it's been awhile  
Since I could call you

And everything I can't remember  
As fup as it all may seem  
The consequences that I've renderedI've stretched myself beyond my means

And it's been awhile  
Since I can say that I wasn't addicted  
And it's been awhile  
Since I can say I love myself as well  
And it's been awhile  
Since I've gone and f things up just like I always do  
And it's been awhile  
But all that shit seems to disappear when I'm with you

And everything I can't remember  
As f up as it all may seem  
The consequences that I've rendered  
I've gone and f things up again

Why must I feel this way?  
Just make this go away  
Just one more peaceful day!

And it's been awhile  
Since I could look at myself straight  
And it's been awhile  
Since I said I'm sorry" **Staind, It's Been Awhile

* * *

**

She was hoping that she was dreaming.

Actually, she was praying that she was dreaming, but she didn't expect much. She wasn't that religious, so she doubted it counted for much.

She couldn't speak . . . no matter how hard she tried. Words wouldn't come out and it seemed that her whole world might have frozen. At that moment, she would have preferred being a statue.

Valon looked rather smug and almost unhuman. It was like there was something terrible in him that was driving his body around.

Mai wanted to believe in that theory, but she knew she was beyond lying to herself now.

"What happened to you?" Mai said after sometime. The words fell out of her mouth before she could control them.

"You." was his eerie response. Mai squinted and sighed.

"No . . . you did this. Dartz happened to you." she whispered, as if she was trying to convince herself more so than him.

"No. Do you think I'd be where I am today if it wasn't for you? Do you think I'd be doing any of this? Dartz might have tried to drive me crazy but you actually got me there." Valon explained.

Mai looked around the roof in complete distress. She was hoping . . . that maybe she _was_ dreaming . . . and that something completely ridiculous would happen and snap her out of it.

"Your move." Valon said as he placed his card down.

Mai looked down at her duel disk.

She could finish the duel . . . but then by the time she did, the bomb could go off.

Then all the people in the building would be dead . . . and all of the useless suffering she created would be amplified to such a high intensity that she could never overcome it.

If Mai left the duel, then that would mean she lost . . . and she would die. Then nobody would know about the bomb.

She glanced around again, hoping to see whoever it was that made those noises. She knew it really wasn't mice . . . or they would have to be huge mice.

* * *

"Way to go." Kaiba muttered from the corner of his mouth. He was glaring down at Joey, who had clumsily tripped over something . . . causing the previous racking the duelists heard.

"What are we going to do . . . ya know, about the bomb?" Joey asked while rubbing his back. It was hurting him a bit after his fall.

He grabbed the crate which had fallen and stood on it. He again, started to cut Serenity's ropes.

They were thick ropes, and cutting them weren't as easy as he thought. It took several more minutes of severe aggravation before her body slid down into his awaiting arms.

"Sis." he said into her ear. She made no response, except for some very light breathing. Joey closed his eyes for a second and looked at Kaiba.

He gave Kaiba the knife he was using, because Kaiba decided that he could untie the ropes . . . which proved somewhat impossible.

Kaiba grunted something which Joey took as a thank you. His job now was to inform everyone about the bomb.

Unfortunately he didn't know how much time any of them had left, so he knew it was of the essence.

He put Serenity on his back, so that it looked like she was riding piggyback, and he held onto her tightly.

He started to run as quietly as he could across the rooftop to the opening in which he came. He was at the point of entrance when his instincts finally caved in and he glanced at the duel.

Valon had more monsters and from what he could make out . . . more life points. Mai, on the other hand, had two face down cards . . . which was always a threat.

Mai looked worried to him . . . something he hardly ever saw in her dueling. Usually, shewasalways full of passion . . . but she didn't even look real to Joey.

He figured that he could touch her and she'd fall over and never get back up. Half of him wanted to run over to her and shout out inspirational words and to cheer her on . . . but the half of him that seemed to be carrying Serenity knew different.

Joey felt a small rage toward Kaiba for tricking her to be his distraction . . . and at the same time . . . he wondered if there was more to the duel than he knew.

Of course, it was obvious, that Mai didn't look capable of holding a card, let alone winning a duel. Lines of worry and fear seemed to be drawn across her face and a trace of a frown was on her lips. She probably didn't have the energy to frown.

For some reason, he felt his right foot turn into her direction. Suddenly, Mai laid down a card and looked up. Her eyes met his and she started to shake her head toward Joey's escape root.

Valon turned to look at whatever Mai was, but found an empty space instead.

* * *

Joey ran.

He heart was beating faster than ever and he was sure that it would popthrough his chest and onto the floor.

He didn't know where he was going exactly . . . but he had to go somewhere. He was surprised he didn't fall off of the ladder, after all he was sweating profusely.

He ended up back in the lobby and saw an open door. He ran in it, and luckily came into a dark hallway.

On the far edge he could see a faint light, and he was hoping that whoever was near that light was a friend.

He traveled quickly and against anybody's advice, he started to bang on the doors loudly. Luckily, Yugi opened the door looking rather fierce, but easing up at Joey's entrance.

Duke and Tristan ran over and placed Serenity in a nearby chair as Joey bent over to catch his breath.

Yugi looked on worriedly and Abby was trying to rub Joey's back, but he kept pushing her away gently.

"There . . . there's a bomb." Joey said through heavy pants.

"That would explain the timer." Tristan said. The others nodded.

"I uh . . . I don't know how much time until . . . until it goes off." Joey continued.

"Well, hey . . . let's think of it this way, what else can go wrong?" Tristan asked. Joey shrugged in his response, while everyone else glared at him as if he was a complete imbecile.

"Well what do we do?" Tea asked, ignoring Tristan. Joey shrugged againand looked over at his sister. Duke was taking off her blindfold.

"We have to get out of here." Joey said quickly.

"Can't we stop the bomb?'' Tea asked. Yugi shook his head in confusion.

"We don't even know where it is." he explained.

"Yug . . . even if we did . . . I mean you're a great guy and you've saved the world plenty of times . . . but you don't even know how . . . none of us do. The closet I've ever been to any wires is hot-wiring a car. We can't risk it." Joey said after a while.

"I get that. Everyone, pack up . . . I wrote down the codes so we'll be able to get into Kaiba's network anywhere and thanks to Rebecca . . . hopefully the virus is gone. Uh, Duke . . . you carry Serenity. Okay, leave and get as far away from the building as you can . . . don't stop and don't come back." Yugi commanded.

"But what about you?" Tea asked. Yugi sighed.

"Kaiba, Mokuba and Mai are still on the roof. I've got to go help them . . ." Yugi started to say. Tea looked away.

"Why can't we all help?" she asked, tears were brimming from her eyes.

"You will help . . . but we don't have time. Just do what I say . . . and I'll know you'll be there, in spirit." Yugi explained, actually believing his words.

Tea just nodded and said nothing because if she did, she knew she would cry. Joey swore he heard he mutter something about 'being noble' as she dashed out of the room.

"Come on Joey." Abby said. She grabbed his arm and started to drag him out of the room. He pulled her hand off of his.

"I've gotta help." Joey said. Abby stomped her foot.

"Did you hear what he said?" she questioned, her voice was reaching an unusual anger.

"Yes . . . and I've got to help." Joey replied persistently as the reached the lobby. Abby shook her head in an upset manner.

"But what if something happens to you Joey. I know that she's your friend and you want to be the hero or whatever . . . but I am the one you are marrying . . . me not her. And yet . . . she's all you think about . . . and deal with . . . I mean she is attractive, but she's been like nothing but a bitch to you and you keep blowing me off for her. I mean do you even want this . . . I don't think you do. I think you're obsessed." Abby said through the tears that ran down her face. Joey shook his head.

"I know." was all he said as he started to walk toward the passageway.

"If you go up there . . . it's over." Abby said although it was hardly audible because of her hysterical bawling.

He didn't pay her any attention.

"Yugi, through here." he said waving his hand. Yugi rolled his eyes, he knew that Joey had to come . . . because frankly, Yugi had no idea where he was going.

"Wait for me Abby, I'll be back . . . I promise." Joey called through the hallway as she was running out of the doorway.

* * *

Mai took a deep breath. She had a plan, and in her mind, it was quite clever. Thanks to her hand and a twist of fate she had the card she needed. 

She could tie the duel . . . taking their life points down to zero at the exact same time, then maybe . . . everyone could get out of the situation

A small unfamiliar smile crossed her face. She was surprised at the somewhat hopeful feeling that arose within her. It was old and new at the same time. It made her stomach turn, but it was like there was butterflies in it and it was a feeling that she missed.

She placed the card on her duel disk and waited.

Lights seemed to hope out of the projection . . . and sometimes Mai wondered if they were real projections at all. She supposed that her thoughts stemmed from previous experiences.

Valon, on the other hand, looked miserable as the counter went down to zero. He looked at Mai with wide eyes.

"What do we do now?" he asked. His voice sounded rough and harsh.

"We tied." Mai said, suppressing the urge to laugh. Valon nodded.

"I knew you could never beat me." he said. Mai laughed and walked over to him, rather slowly.

She stood in front of him as if she was measuring him up. He didn't like it.

"Guess we won't find out . . . at least . . . not for a while." she said as she pushed her hand in her pocket.

The cool metal that rested under her finger tips dared her to use it. It dared her to unleash the power and to end everything right then and there.

She pulled out the gun. Valon grabbed her wrist, but she kicked him and he fell.

He made a loud thud on the roof, and Mai wondered if anyone could hear.

He tried to stand back up, but Mai hit him as hard as she could with the back of the gun. Her plan worked and he was knocked out. She gave a bittersweet smile as she dashed across the rooftop to see Kaiba struggling with Mokuba's ropes.

Finally, he got the younger Kaiba down.

"Mokuba." Kaiba said worriedly. Mokuba didn't answer and his head just hung limply.

Kaiba climbed down the crate in which he was standing on and came face to face with Mai.

"You look terrible." he said as he hoisted Mokuba on his back. Mai only rolled her eyes at him.

A noise came from the corner and Mai quickly looked over.

"I don't know who that is." she muttered.

"I suppose we better make a run for it." Kaiba answered. He would have stayed and fought any of the guys who did whatever they did to his brother . . . but he had to get his brother to a hospital as soon as possible.

"We should sneak back over to the trap entrance." Kaiba whispered. The roof top was dark where they were standing and due to the time of day, it was hard for Mai's eyes to focus.

She followed him as quietly as she could, occasionally hearing heavy footsteps opening crates and boxes.

Suddenly she saw lights coming from flashlights and it was her best instincts to hurry. The lights seemed to make small patterns all over and they were careful to walk of the light's way.

Mai wanted to ask if they were there yet, but she knew that they would be heard.

One of the men moved his light and shined it in Mai's direction, and it reflected off of one of her earrings. He and five others ran after them as they came to the trap door. They were very quick and trapped Mai, Kaiba and Mokuba in a small circle at gunpoint.

"Put the boy down." a husky voice asked.

"No." Kaiba shouted back. Mai glanced around to see if she could spot anyone familiar, but everyone was masked in black.

"Seto Kaiba, it would be in your best interest to put the boy down." came another voice from behind them.

"I won't." Kaiba said, clutching onto Mokuba's knees harder. Mai looked at him sympathetically, but he hadn't glanced her way.

"Then, it's on bosses orders to shoot both of you." said the first man.

"No." Mai screamed. Her voice was loud and a forgotten strength had returned to it. The men, who had temporarily forgotten about her, turned in her direction.

"You have no power here Miss Valentine." one said mockingly.

She flashed him a dazzling smile.

"I will." she said as she grabbed Kaiba by his arm and pushed him and Mokuba out of the circle before firing at the unidentified man's leg.

Kaiba decided his best escape route was on the other side. He knew that he had to force himself not to look back, because if he did . . . he would feel like he had to help her.

He could hear the sounds of a huge fight going on in the background. He could also hear footsteps approaching him.

Kaiba was known for being a very fast runner. He wasn't known for, however, for running away. So the thought of retreating was bothering him somewhat, but he knew that for Mokuba to be safe, he had to run away. Kaiba would give his life up for Mokuba's.

The footsteps were coming closer and for some reason the dim lights were gone. Everything was flooded in blackness . . . except for the small beams of light that came from various flashlights.

Kaiba could hear his brother's frantic breathing, which made him hope that Mokuba was coming too. He could also hear his chasers coming closer.

Suddenly, he saw someone jump in front of him and then there were a few more men surrounding him. Kaiba knew that he knocked out one guy, but it was difficult to fight with a small boy on one's back. Luckily,he was rather strong.

Someone threw a punch at him and he dodged and punched back. The flashlights only had a small amount of light, so the attackers were hit off of pure instinct.

Kaiba then kicked someone else before he was hit over the head with something and pummeled to the ground completely surrounded by darkness.

* * *

Mai was never known for fighting, at least in the sense of hand-to-hand combat. After she pushed Kaiba, she had ducked a bullet by dropping to the ground and she was sure someone else was hit with it because she heard them scream "No more guns."

From there she pushed herself back up and despite the pain she had kicked someone from behind her.

Her senses were off though, and she blamed it on her current condition. Mai felt cold, hard hands push her onto the ground where her back hit some sort of crate.

Her mind was telling her to get up and to run after Kaiba and Mokuba. It was telling her to do something, but she couldn't.

She took deep breaths as colors started to swirl around her. She hoped Kaiba had gotten away and that Serenity was safe.

Mai was seriously thinking of putting herself out of misery and doing the one thing she dared Valon to do, but she had dropped her gun at one point during the franticness and she wasn't going to find it.

She was lucky she was leaning against something.

The noise of footsteps rushing toward the opposite direction wasn't calming to her. She could hear fighting going on and she hoped that they were fighting each other, but she knew better.

Biting her lip, she felt a single tear run down her face. She couldn't help him . . . because she was weak.

Her mind was unfocused and everything looked so dark and harsh. Her body hurt in the most unimaginable way and she could faintly hear somebody come toward her.

Mai's eyes were closed because she didn't want to see what was going on. She wanted to pretend that she was dueling.

She could almost imagine the feeling of being in some sunny field, facing an opponent with absolutely nothing at stake but one more loss to add to the list.

Mai wanted to feel the cool wind blow through her hair . . . and she wanted to go shopping with Serenity and laugh at the boys with Tea again.

She wanted to take everything she ever did back . . . and start over.

Mai's hand fell from her lap and onto the cold concrete. She could feel the roughness of it and she absentmindedly traced the patterns the unevenness of it made.

Her chest rose and fell slower each second and it seemed everything was slipping away. She could hear a scream from the distance, and she tried to push herself up . . . but she fell in her attempt.

The previous footsteps came closer and at that moment, she didn't care whom they belonged too.

Her vision was hazy and all she could make out was an outline of a body.

Someone crouched down next to her.

"Mai." the voice said.

Her mind, which was drifting away to places more imaginable, shot back to reality. She knew that voice.

"Joey?" she asked. Mai forced herself to look at him and her vision was becoming more clear.

"Yeah. I'm here, and we need to go." he said. Mai had decided to clutch onto his arms as hard as she could . . . which wasn't very hard. Joey hadn't felt anything.

"Okay, let's go." he said. Mai shook her head.

"No, we can't . . . I . . . where's Kaiba?" she asked. Joey looked at her and was half tempted to lie for her sake.

"Mai, there's a bomb . . . and we need to go or we'll both be dead." Joey said as he helped Mai rise.

"No, I've got to find Kaiba and make sure Mokuba is okay." she said. Joey held onto her a little harder than he had meant too.

"Yugi will find them." he said as he tried to lead her away, but she wouldn't move.

"Yugi can't keep cleaning up everyone's messes." she whispered faintly. Joey frowned. Mai's appearance was devastating to him and he wondered if she was covered in her own blood or somebody else's. She looked completely out of it.

"Serenity . . . is she ok?" Mai asked.

"She's safe. I promise." Joey said. Mai nodded again and mumbled something about Serenity being safe . . . as if she was trying to reassure herself.

"You go . . . I'll find Kaiba." Mai decided a second later.

"You can hardly move." Joey said. Mai rolled her eyes. She figured that her desperation to find Kaiba was giving her some newfound strength. If Mokuba was dead because of her . . . she didn't know what she would do.

"Joey . . . I have too. And I don't want you to get hurt because of me. I didn't ask for you to save me." Mai said as she let go of him and started to stand on her own.

"It's like my day job." Joey replied. He was honestly trying to make a joke, but he only matched Mai's expression of hopelessness perfectly. She looked up from the ground and tried to talk through a sob she couldn't suppress.

"It shouldn't be." was her whispered answer. It was so faint and low that Joey thought she sounded like a small child. Instead of saying this though, he nodded.

"We'll find Kaiba and Mokuba." he said. Mai nodded. She wanted to desperately tell Joey to turn back and leave her . . . but she couldn't. The words wouldn't form out of her mouth and all she could do was whisper thank you.

The hardest part of crossing the roof, besides the madmen that were trying to attack them, was walking across it. Everything was rather dark and Mai was having such a hard time that she could feel Joey catch her and push her back up a few times.

Although she didn't want to admit, his cool hands against her hurt arms felt good and she didn't want him to exactly let go.

They finally came to where Yugi was trying to revive Kaiba.

"Where's Mokuba?" Mai gasped as tears rolled down her face, leaving a stream of clearness through the sweat and blood.

"He wasn't here." Yugi said automatically as he was frantically shaking Kaiba. Kaiba, who arose after being shaken, seemed to voice the same question.

He was sporting bruises and cuts of his own, but he didn't look at damaged as Mai did. He pushed himself off of the ground, ignoring Yugi's offer to help.

They heard a small clicking sound and the rooftop was flooded in light. Right behind them they heard a small cough and they all turned around to see Valon standing on the edge of the roof holding Mokuba.

Mokuba, who was awake, looked terrified. He was still gagged, but the blindfold was gone.

"This has gotten out of hand." Valon said. He sounded upset and a small bruise was forming where Mai had hit him.

Valon had a death grip on Mokuba's stomach while his other hand was holding Mai's gun.

"Valon." Kaiba said dangerously. His voice had dropped to a tone of pure hatred and he started to walk toward Valon, but Valon only moved toward the back further.

"You get my game now, don't you Kaiba?" Valon said through a sick smile that lite up his face. He was totally consumed by power and Mai seriously doubted that he would ever become better. She would have liked to say, 'back to the Valon she once loved', but even he was consumed with power . . . only not as much.

"Let him go." Kaiba commanded. Valon shrugged.

"Or what?" Valon asked, "I already have everything you can give me."

Kaiba closed his eyes for a moment, trying to come up with a sensible plan. He hoped that nobody would do anything stupid but to his extreme displeasure . . .

"Mokuba didn't do anything to you." Joey spoke. Kaiba was ready to punch Joey . . . because this wasn't Joey's problem and Valon was liable to do anything.

"Wheeler . . . like I need to listen to you. You know . . . I'm sure at one point, we could have become great friends . . . but we all make choices in life . . . so I messed up that opportunity. Your choice, on the other hand, is to act like an idiot all the time. Choices, it's life." Valon responded.

Joey could feel his fingers curl into fists. He was about to retort . . . but Mai shouted his name in such a undesirably harsh manner that Joey automatically shut his mouth.

Valon smirked. "Yes, good thing you're in control." he said while laughing. Mai didn't answer.

"Now, listen Valon . . . " Joey started to say, but Valon interrupted him.

"Joey, you know what your problem is. You're all talk . . . and then you try to go through with action . . . but you don't plan. You just hop in and wing it. That's how you get yourself into situations like these. This isn't your problem. I don't care what you say." Valon shot back.

"Hey . . . " Joey again started to say, but Mai grabbed his arm.

"He's right Joey. This has nothing to do with you." she said as gently as she could.

"But Mai . . . " Joey replied, all ready to argue, but she didn't let him finish. Instead she dropped her hand from his arm and yelled.

"Just shut up Joey." was her tired response.

"What do you want Valon . . . you don't want Mokuba . . . what do you gain from that?" Mai asked. Her voice was breaking up and the fact that her eyes were glued to Mokuba's tears didn't help matters.

"Oh, I gain annoyance from you and I get to destroy one of the most powerful men in the world. I get a lot." Valon answered.

He took another step back so that he was standing right over the edge, one more and Valon and Mokuba would fall to what Mai presumed to be their doom.

"Take me instead." Mai spat out. She heard Joey start to yell something, but she gave him the meanest glare she could muster and he let out a hopeless sigh of defeat.

"You, we tried that. What would I get from that? I mean really . . . yes there is the whole having you forever thing we talked about, but Mai . . . I couldn't shoot you." Valon said as he glanced down at the gun in his hand.

"You don't have to shoot me . . . just give them Mokuba. I don't care what happens to me." Mai pleaded. Valon looked as if he was considering the offer for a moment before he glanced over at Kaiba.

Kaiba desperately wanted to dash over to Mokuba, but he knew that Mokuba would die if that happened . . . and that he didn't want.

"I want Kaiba too . . . everyone but you and Kaiba can go." Valon said.

"No . . . " Mai started to say as she glanced at Kaiba, but he just glared at her.

"Mokuba will go free?" Kaiba asked, his voice sounding unfamiliar to her ears. He sounded defeated . . . and lost.

Valon nodded.

"You'll never hurt him again." Kaiba commanded.

"No . . . you'll be different on the other hand." Valon replied. Kaiba looked at him suddenly and nodded.

"Kaiba, you can't." Mai said. He shrugged.

"I have too . . . for my brother." Kaiba replied, and for the first time Mai could really tell how tired Kaiba sounded.

"Joey . . . take Mokuba." Valon said. He pushed the young boy to the ground as Joey ran over to him. Mokuba stood up and Joey put him on his back. Joey grabbed onto Mokuba's ankles and made sure he was safe. His shoulder was being covered with Mokuba's tears. They seemed to burn through his shirt and he was half tempted to stop, but Valon still had them at gunpoint.

Yugi had looked longingly at everybody, but they shooed him away. Joey had caught Mai's eye and tried to say something, but she shook her head and muttered "just go" through tears.

He wanted to stay and help but Mai gave him a small push and he ran toward Yugi.

A few minutes later, Valon still had the gun raised, but he watched Yugi, Joey and Mokuba run away from the building and down the sidewalk.

Valon moved from his perch. He never took the gun off of Mai and Kaiba.

Mai hadn't felt so much disgust toward one person in such a long time. The feeling was usually toward herself. It was taking everything in her power not to push him off the edge of the roof. She knew he'd shoot her if she moved though.

Yet something in her wouldn't let her push him. It made her stay rooted to the spot. She didn't know what it was . . . but it was an odd urging feeling to let him alone . . . to let him go on.

"See below us here. Well I happen to have men underneath opening a trampoline. I'm going to jump off and fall to the ground, only to be safely risked away to Mexico. You two on the other hand . . . will die trying to get out of the building within the two minutes that are left until the bomb goes off. See Mai, that way I don't have to watch you die. I do believe that two minutes isn't enough time to get out of the building, is it Kaiba?" Valon explained jokingly.

Mai couldn't take it anymore . . . it as in life, she walked toward Valon as he pulled his gun, but she was cut off by Kaiba who had pushed Valon off the roof.

Unfortunately, Valon wasn't ready to jump . . . but he wasn't going without a fight. He pulled the trigger and one last bullet escaped the gun.

It was aimed for Kaiba . . . at least Mai thought so . . . until she felt the silver brush against her and fell onto the roof with the blackness finally caving in on her . . . like it always had in her dreams.

Kaiba looked over the edge of the roof, not caring where Valon had fallen or if the trampoline was out yet. Instead, he picked up Mai and ran down the stairs as fast as he could.

He had to jump over bodies and he was becoming covered in Mai's blood.

Kaiba noticed the bullet had hit Mai's leg, but he knew the shock had knocked her out . . . it's not like she was in perfect condition at this point anyway.

He didn't know why he saved her . . . for it was her who caused the mess . . . but he couldn't turn away. He assumed that it was the fact that she tried so hard to help save his brother . . . she was going to give up her life for Mokuba's.

He figured that there has to be some good in her after all.

Kaiba didn't know how he was running so fast. His chest was hurting and he was sure he was going to puke some time soon. His heart was beating so loud that he was surprised Mai didn't wake up.

Her paleness matched the once whiteness of his now bloodied jacket. She was limp in his arms and only small breaths came from her mouth.

He felt like he was floating on air and when he reached the entrance doors he was filled with his second wind.

He ran as fast as he could and was greeted by the coldness of the outdoors. On the roof, he was sticky with sweat, but now he was covered in goose bumps that stayed hidden under his so many layers of clothing.

Kaiba quickly surveyed the surrounding area while he ran away from the building. To his luck and displeasure he saw an empty dumpster. He placed Mai in it and then put himself in it. It seemed to be far enough away from the building that they wouldn't get hit by the initial blast.

Kaiba took deep breaths and tried to plug his nose. He wanted to go see Mokuba but he knew that he would be killed if he stepped out of the dumpster.

He could hear Mai's breathing fasten.

"Oh God." she cried, "Where am I?"

"Hiding." Kaiba replied as he sat in the middle, with his arms over his head . . . just in case he needed to block something. He remembered Mokuba telling him they had to do it in school and he found it ridiculous . . . but he did it anyway just to relive the memory of talking to his brother.

"Where's Valon?" she questioned through deep breaths. Kaiba looked at her somewhat worriedly. He didn't want to go through all of that extra trouble to have her die on him then.

"I don't know . . . I didn't see him after he fell." Kaiba responded mysteriously. He thought he would have seen Valon on the ground, but he figured the trampoline trick really did work.

Mai again took deep breaths and her tears of pain were uncontrollable.

"Why did you save me?" she asked as it seemed the only reasonable way for her to get from the top of a roof to a dumpster somewhere.

"I don't know." he answered.

She pushed herself so that she was sitting up and coughed. She couldn't see what she coughed up, but she kept doing it.

"I think . . . I think I'm dying." she said through heavy pants, but her cries were unheard as an explosion went off in the background.

It was so loud that Kaiba thought he might become deaf. He could hear object pelting the side of the dumpster and Mai even shrieked a few times.

The smell of fire reached his nose and he frowned. His company was destroyed.

But it was just steel and glass and fancy carpet . . . it was just material . . . at least he tried to convince himself of that.

Mokuba was safe, at least he prayed his brother was safe, and that is what mattered. Everything seemed to happen so fast and so slow at the time.

A huge beam crashed against the dumpster on the side where Mai was sitting and she pushed herself against Kaiba. He caught her and noticed how bad she was shaking.

Dust was also flying everywhere and Kaiba was glad it was dead of night for he felt that if it was midday, many people would be dead.

He doesn't know how long he sat there . . . listening to Mai try and breath in and out, but when he heard the sound of fire trucks and police sirens, he decided to get out. Pushing the top open was harder than he expected, because of the beam that was on it, but he eventually pushed it open.

He crawled out and saw dust and debris everywhere. Faint flames and sprouts of water were going off in the distance.

He heard Mai trying to push herself up and he pulled her out. She looked rather unstable and the strangest feeling occurred within him.

He knew she was bad, deceitful, horrible, bitchy . . . and yet he felt a small amount of pity for her. He didn't want her to die.

He didn't know why . . . he just didn't.

"You look lovely." he said jokingly and Mai tried to laugh as she knew he wasn't usually a joking type . . . but after an incident as bad as that was . . . everyone needed to laugh.

"Wow Kaiba you really . . . " she started to say but only coughed instead and swayed.

He led her against the dumpster and she didn't care that she had to sit on dirt and beams. He tore off the sleeve of his jacket and wrapped it around her leg . . . hoping that a huge amount of dirt didn't get into the wound.

He then picked her up and walked toward what used to be his building.

* * *

"Guys . . . did you . . . did you watch that?" Tea asked. Her face was stained with tears and she had a death grip at Yugi and Tristan . . . who happened to be sitting beside her. 

They were a few streets over and out of harms way . . . except for the dirt that seemed to descend upon the whole city. The air looked unbreathable and Tea didn't want to leave the building without something securing their face.

Serenity hadn't spoken a word since she was saved, but her face was also stained from her tears. Mokuba, on the other hand, hastily wiped his tears away . . . for he was somewhat ashamed they were there in the first place.

"What do we do now?" Duke asked. Everyone looked at him like he had just said something unbelievable horrible. It was the unasked question that hung in the air and he just happened to have said it.

"We've got to find my brother." Mokuba said. He was obviously free and remotely upset. His hair was more unruly than usual and it seemed like he didn't shower for days. He looked around at everyone and only gloomy faces met his hopeful one.

"Mokuba . . . we don't know if your brother is . . . " Tea started to say as gently as she could, but she couldn't finish her sentence due to the tears that were falling from her eyes. She wasn't particularly fond of Kaiba . . . she didn't really think any of them were, except Mokuba and maybe Yugi . . . but she didn't wish death upon him.

Mokuba stomped his foot and glanced outside.

"I thought you guys were always about bravery and friendship and hope . . . I mean, isn't that what Tea carries on about every five seconds?" Mokuba screamed.

"Now, I know you're upset, but yelling at Tea isn't the answer!" Tristan said as calmly as he could muster.

"No . . . I think Mokuba is right." Yugi replied. Mokuba sent him a tiny smile.

"Guys, I know this sounds crazy . . . but I know he's alive, I just . . . I just would have felt it . . . I just would have known if something was wrong." Mokuba explained. His voice was finally calm and he was proud of himself for not crying . . . he knew Kaiba didn't like when he cried.

Tea glanced at Yugi as if he was supposed to say something, but he remained speechless.

"I get what you mean, I do . . . but you were out of it when we saved you. You can't really tell what happened up there and your brother seemed really sure he wanted to stay." Joey said.

Everyone turned to him. Throughout their hiding, Joey, much like his sister, hadn't spoken a word. He didn't even mutter. He was completely and utterly silent. Mokuba shook his head, and dirt seemed to fly out of his hair.

Mokuba felt dirty . . . and gross. He wanted to jump into a hot bath even though he despised baths. He wanted to run outside and feel the cool breeze against his face and he wanted to watch his brother duel . . . he didn't want to be how he is now . . . helpless.

"He wouldn't leave me now. He wouldn't." Mokuba added. A sullen silence spread throughout the room and nobody knew exactly what to say to assure the youngest Kaiba. Instead they cast pitiful and confused glances at each other.

"Mokuba . . . we're tired . . . and we need to get you checked out at a hospital." Tristan said after sometime. Mokuba instead threw a chair across the room that they were in. Abby gasped at the sudden move. She had spent the whole time sulking and then trying to get Serenity to speak.

"Kaiba never gave up on me. I won't give up on him . . . and Yugi, you've never given up on anybody . . . don't start now." Mokuba said. His tears were running freely and Yugi stood there flabbergasted.

"Okay . . . Abby, Tea and Duke . . . take Serenity to the hospital. We'll catch up with you later. Joey, do you want to go with them?" Yugi asked.

Joey looked at his sister. She seemed to be okay, other than emotionally distraught.

"Go with them Joey. I'll be safe, I promise." Serenity said faintly. Joey numbly nodded.

"Okay, so me, Joey, Tristan and Mokuba are going though the wreckage." Yugi added.

"Mokuba . . . we can't promise you anything." Tristan said to him. Mokuba just bit his lip and nodded.

* * *

Distant sounding buzzing came to her ears as she snapped out of whatever daze she was in. She felt uneven patches of hard brick against her back. She could also hear low voices, but she didn't know where they were coming from. 

"I'm so sorry for this Mr. Kaiba . . . we would have known sooner . . . we will catch whoever is responsible for this." a voice said.

The voice continued, " We do have one of the culprits. We've been tracking him since your assistant sent us information on what happened to you . . . all of your funds will be given back to you . . . again the police force is strongly behind you and . . . "

Mai couldn't hear the rest of the words. Instead other words were running through her head.

_"It's all about choices."_

_''I just can't follow wether you want to kill them or help them. It's quite amusing watching you all bicker." _

_"Are you sure you can do this?"_

_"Mai, it's dangerous. You can't keep doing these things by yourself. You won't admit it, but you need help."_

_"Evil has a taste?"_

_"You need more friends Mai."_

_"So does this mean we're friends now Mai?"_

_"I'm gorgeous, I'm such a great duelist . . . I love me! How's that?"_

_"Winnings about more than cards and life points."_

_"No, I can't . . . I won't. Look Mai, I'm not gonna lose you again. We gotta stop this duel now!"_

_"I'm gonna find a way to save us both."_

_"Even if you did get married, you'd drive your husband crazy."_

_"You're about to play your Phoenix Formation, right? So what are you waiting for?"_

_"If you don't want to lose anymore memories, I'd advise you not to summon weak monsters."_

_"I brought down my own downfall."_

Suddenly the sounds shifted from what people have told her to promises of ultimate power and complete detestation. Mai can swear she felt sand raining down on her at the moment, but concluded it was the dirt from the explosion. The voices were getting farther away, but changing into her own.

_"You looked your demons in the eye and dealt with them."_

_"It sounded like one big soap opera . . . "_

_"Time to show Mr. Hollywood Ninja Boy I'm not a prize to be won."_

_"I'm a wanderer and the open road is calling."_

_"I play the magic card: Elegant Egotist! And now Elegant Egotist shall turn my one Harpy into three! Let's give a big Battle City hello to the Harpy Lady Sisters!" _

_"Don't be a backseat duelist. I can handle this by myself."_

_"The powerful Harpy cards I kept in my deck were the closest things I had to friends . . . But as cool and powerful as my Harpies were, deep down inside, I knew they weren't real . . . "_

_"I told you the Mai you knew is gone. I traded her soul for power. The old Mai was too lonely and pathetic. The girl was just holding me back. So I did what I had to, I sent her packing! Now, my weak side is gone for good!" _

_"No! I can't lose . . . can't lose . . . won't go back there . . . have to win . . . "_

_"I've had it with your ridiculous world domination mumbo jumbo, and I want out!"_

_"It's all my fault."_

_"Valon, I'm ready."_

_"This power and this rage . . . I can't do it Joey . . . I tried, I'm not strong enough. There isn't time to save me."_

_"I'll help you."_

_"I'd be down in Mexico with a bunch of hot guys and money and you would be up here with no money and a dead brother . . . hell you'd probably be dead too."_

_"Kaiba, haven't you learned by now that to get through to a person you have to use their weaknesses. Unfortunately for Valon, I know his weakness."_

_"Maybe, they aren't trying to help me."_

_"But finally, after all this time, I know me."_

_"Take me instead."_

It was if she was watching her life flash before her eyes in one extremely fast motion . . . like she was watching somebody else's life . . . and she was just a spectator.

All the pain and misery she caused . . . all the pain she felt . . . seemed to rush to her all at once and she laughed of the thought of her life being a best-selling movie.

The distance was becoming fuzzy and hazy. Shapes blurred together, but she understood now. She knew what she had to do . . .

Using whatever strength she still possessed she tried to push herself up, but stopped at the sight of Kaiba who was staring at her as if she was a mental patient.

"What are you doing?" he asked as he watched her struggle to stand. She looked as if she was getting worse.

"Getting up." was her stubborn reply.

"Let me at least help." he said rather kindly, for the way she was acting was even too pitiful for him to stand.

"No . . . I have to do this alone." she said, trying to shoo him away, but missing horribly. She wasn't quite sure what she hit or even if she hit anything at all.

"What do you have to do?" Kaiba asked, and just before Mai could answer, a man in a police uniform came over to them.

"Mr. Kaiba . . . our hostage had given us another name . . . he said that he was working for and with a James . . . but I couldn't get a last name. He also said that the person in charge was a woman named Mai Valentine." the man said in the most official voice he could muster.

Kaiba looked toward Mai and back at the officer.

Mai looked like she was about to speak, but closed her mouth inside. The taste of blood seemed like a permanent fixture and she was wondering where she could puke without it looking extremely unladylike.

Kaiba knew that he should have turned Mai in at that moment. She was the cause of his most recent problems and the beginning of his great empire laid at his feet in flames because of her.

Yet the sound of her voice . . . pleading Valon to take her instead of Mokuba lingered in his ears. He hated himself at that point for even considering not reported the woman who made his life Hell.

He knew that he won't be able to get the raw sound of her voice out of his ears or the look of complete despair from her eyes out of his mind.

Kaiba knew he shouldn't believe her when she said she didn't want Mokuba involved. Mai was a professional liar and she was very believable. Keeping a 'poker face' as Kaiba had heard it called, during dueling is a great skill every master needs to muster.

Kaiba believed Joey never had that skill.

He gazed at the officer . . . who looked scared. He was shaking and for some reason Kaiba wanted to slap him. What did that man have to be afraid of . . . except his dastardly uniform color. He didn't see the things Kaiba had or felt the pain Kaiba did.

"Ok . . . that's a start." was all that Kaiba could mutter. He was surprised to see the sadness from Mai's expression.

"Wait . . . officer . . ." she started to say to the man because he was starting to leave . . . but Kaiba cut her off.

"She's delusional." Kaiba added, " A stretcher would be nice though . . . or is that too much of a hassle for you?" His voice was full of sarcasm and the officer ran toward the ambulance.

Mai looked at Kaiba, awe stricken.

"What . . . why . . . I deserve to be . . . locked up forever not . . . " she started to say, but due to the pain she was feeling, she stopped.

"If you live through tonight . . . I will deal with it . . . and you can say whatever the Hell it is that you feel you have to say . . . but right now . . . I can't see you saying anything that sounds remotely reasonable and I'm not sure I want to hear it." Kaiba said finally.

He knew, by the type of person Mai was, that she would want to retort . . . but the paramedics came toward them with a stretcher and she was placed on it without another word.

She seemed to collapse on it and she was terrified.

Mai didn't know what was going to happen . . . and she wished she had something solid to put her faith in. It makes her regret going to church with her aunt the five times she asked.

Kaiba, on the other hand, was more concerned at the present moment with finding his brother. He knew, deep down he was safe . . . and that is what mattered most.

* * *

It was, as Mokuba had worded, the best feeling ever when they came face to face. Yugi, Joey and Mokuba had taken an hour to get to the site of the building. Kaiba, although he wanted to look for his brother, had stayed behind and watched the flames diefromthe streams of water that shot up from the fire trucks. 

Smoke filled the air, and dirt was everywhere, but Kaiba spotted his brother right away. Mokuba ran over to him as fast as he could and grabbed onto him so tight that Kaiba was sure he wasn't letting go.

Kaiba patted his brother's back. Unshed tears threatened to make their way out his eyes, but he blinked them back with much effort. Kaiba didn't want to cry . . . he knew that heros didn't cry. And according to Mokuba, Kaiba was his hero.

Yugi and Joey worked their way over to the two Kaiba brothers and overlooked the damage.

"This is horrible Kaiba." Yugi said. Kaiba nodded and stared at his brother.

"We'll rebuild, won't we Seto . . . and it'll be even better." Mokuba replied hopefully. Kaiba looked into his brother's eyes and gave a small smile at the sparkle that seemed to be permanently glued in them.

"Yes, we will . . . but, that's not the most important thing." Kaiba said with a shrug. Mokuba smiled and grabbed onto him once again.

Kaiba did intend to plan again, he had figures and blueprints in his mind . . . but first he wanted to go away on vacation with Mokuba. He had enough of Domino for a while.

Kaiba turned to see Yugi and Joey in somewhat deep discussion about something or another. Joey was kicking his foot in the dirt looking rather sullen.

"I'm not sure why I'm telling you this . . . but they took Valentine to the hospital a while ago. She was . . . well she was in horrible condition. She'll probably make it through though, being unconscious must be like a daily activity for her." Kaiba told Joey and Yugi. His voice sounded cool and collected, and his face resembled that.

"What do you think will happen to her now Yug?" Joey asked. Yugi shrugged.

"Well, the officer told me . . . everything Valon told him. She'll be charge with theft, assisted suicide, fraud and she had some checks that bounced." Kaiba said in a very board manner.

"What about her whole taking over your corporation thing, I'm no lawyer . . . but that can't be covered plainly under theft can it?" Joey asked.

Kaiba shrugged and looked over the horizon. He didn't know what action he was taking, or what he was doing . . . but he knew getting back into the safety of his home was a good start.

The darkness of the night had changed into a semi- dark day where the sky was light gray.

"What's going to happen now?" Mokuba asked, his voice sounded concerned and rough from lack of sleep. Kaiba glanced over at everything around him and sighed.

"I think, Mokuba, it is going to rain."


	17. Another Chance

**Authors Notes**: It's been a fun ride, this is the end . . . short and sweet as it is. I did not include a trial scene, and if you feel like it is a necessity then please tell me and I will add it for you! I had major writers block, hence the length of delivery. I knew how I wanted to end it . . . but getting it down on paper was difficult. Remember how I started in Mai's POV and then the second chapter was Joey's . . . yeah . . . it's somewhat like that . . . but don't confuse yourself to bad. I wanted to end it how I started it so I wrote two different versions. . .One in Mai's POV and one in a normal POV . . . I'm posting in Mai's . . . but it switches to somebody else's then back to hers . . .

5animefan- **Thanks. I just thought that Joey and Mai had reached a level where he accepted what she was going to do. I didn't mean to write him wimpy, but if he would have done something than perhaps she might have died . . . then . . . **

Growing Pain- **OMG, I so didn't realize I made Mokuba call Kaiba, Kaiba. Oops on my part! Yeah, I was tired when I wrote this . . . but whatever. Suspect . . . yeah, it might be a better word. Most definitely a better word. I'm glad my search was appreciated, I know that people do write the scenes differently, but I thought that writing the flashbacks out would just take up extra space that didn't need to be there. I suppose I could have wrote who said each thing, but I liked the simplicity of it. Serenity was freed first basically because Joey had a knife and then he used it . . . that's all. I needed Mokuba to be captured by Valon yet again so that Kaiba and Mai would be trapped on the roof. If it was vise versa then it would have been Mai and Joey stuck on the roof . . . and I wanted to show the subtle changes in Kaiba . . . not Joey, but that is why I did that. **

**Okay for the duel, I really could have drawn it out and I apologize for not, I suppose I could go back and add that in . . . but I'm not perfect . . . plus the only thing I know about duel monsters is a few very basic things . . . I dunno . . . even though they dueled on the show I was concerned let's say with . . . Joey running up to save Mai than the actual cards that were played to get them to that situation. So sorry about that, now that I read back, it is awfully sudden and I probably should have hinted at it . . .**

**Ok, Mai knocking out Valon was due to the fact that she was full of confidence. To make it clearer Mai kicked him where it would hurt the most . . . yeah, you know . . . and then she hit him . . . I think it was on the side of his head about his temple and it knocked him out. I actually heard of this kid who lives a while away from me who was killed because he was hit in his temple with a really small stone. Yeah, I couldn't believe it . . . but it happens. **

**Being mean to Mokuba, I didn't try and make people be mean to Mokuba . . . well except the 'bad guys' . . . They were all exhausted from the situation and they didn't want to realize that Kaiba might have died. I know I make Mokuba say something about it . . . I just can't remember the exact wording! Luckily Yugi agreed with him and they were reunited. **

**Reunited and it feels so good. . . **

**Ok, sorry about that, had to do it. I'm glad you liked it overall, although I made a whole bunch of tiny er not so tiny mistakes that probably had to do with my tendency to rush things. I mean it took me a while to post and everything, but I didn't work on it the whole time . . . to be honest. **

Stupid real life constantly interferes, but it's ok.

**By the way, I'm glad you agree with me. I thought that Kaiba would save Mai . . . but he does seem confused, whatever will he do? **

**Hopefully the last chapter will live up to the rest of the story, but I think I will be taking a different approach with it.**

MissDomaYuset- **It's okay, blink a few times now . . . and you're good. Don't worry, your questions will be answered . . . and if the aren't then when you review me, ask away . . . and perhaps I will answer them with another chapter. Of course, I plan this chapter to be the last . . . but it could go on . . . and on . . . and on . . . and you get what I mean. **

cherryopsicle- **Hey thanks. I'm glad that you are enjoying the story and yes . . . it is near, er here! Holds out spare Kleenex **

Disclaimer: Nope . . . still don't own it . . . Or the two songs that inspired me the most throughout this experiences . . . see below:

"Prison gates won't open up for me  
On these hands and knees I'm crawlin'  
Oh, I reach for you  
Well I'm terrified of these four walls  
These iron bars can't hold my soul in  
All I need is you  
Come please I'm callin'  
And oh I scream for you  
Hurry I'm fallin'

Show me what it's like  
To be the last one standing  
And teach me wrong from right  
And I'll show you what I can be  
Say it for me  
Say it to me  
And I'll leave this life behind me  
Say it if it's worth saving me

Heaven's gates won't open up for me  
With these broken wings I'm fallin'  
And all I see is you  
These city walls ain't got no love for me  
I'm on the ledge of the eighteenth story  
And oh I scream for you  
Come please I'm callin' And all I need from you  
Hurry I'm fallin'

Show me what it's like  
To be the last one standing  
And teach me wrong from right  
And I'll show you what I can be  
Say it for me  
Say it to me  
And I'll leave this life behind me  
Say it if it's worth saving me

Hurry I'm fallin'

And all I need is you  
Come please I'm callin'  
And oh I scream for you  
Hurry I'm fallin'

Show me what it's like  
To be the last one standing  
And teach me wrong from right  
And I'll show you what I can be  
Say it for me  
Say it to me  
And I'll leave this life behind me  
Say it if it's worth saving me  
Hurry I'm fallin'  
Say it for me  
Say it for me  
And I'll leave this life behind me  
Say if it's worth saving me" **Savin' Me- Nickelback**

"Drink up baby down  
Are you in or are you out?  
Leave your things behind  
'Cause it's all going off without you  
Excuse me too busy you're writing your tragedy  
These mishaps  
You bubble-wrap  
When you've no idea what you're like

So, let go,let go  
Jump in  
Oh well, what you waiting for?  
It's all right  
'Cause there's beauty in the breakdown  
So, let go, l-let go  
Just get in  
Oh, it's so amazing here  
It's all right  
'Cause there's beauty in the breakdown

It gains the more it givesAnd then it rises with the fall  
So hand me that remote  
Can't you see that all that stuff's a sideshow?  
Such boundless pleasure  
We've no time for later  
Now you can't await  
your own arrival  
you've twenty seconds to comply

So, let go, so let go  
Jump in  
Oh well, what you waiting for?  
It's alright  
'Cause there's beauty in the breakdown  
So, let go, yeah let go  
Just get in  
Oh, it's so amazing here  
It's all right  
'Cause there's beauty in the breakdown

So, let go, so let go  
Jump in  
Oh well, what you waiting for?  
It's alright  
'Cause there's beauty in the breakdown  
So, let go, yeah let go  
Just get in  
Oh, it's so amazing here  
It's all right  
'Cause there's beauty in the breakdown

In the breakdown  
'Cause there's beauty in the breakdown  
The breakdown

So amazing here  
'Cause there's beauty in the breakdown" Breakdown- **Frou Frou

* * *

**

**(Mai's POV)**

**_A FEW MONTHS LATER_**

Alone.  
Angry.  
Broken.  
Scared.  
Afraid.  
Sorry . . .

On more than one occasion, these feelings have run through me so intensely that I'm surprised that they didn't kill me. I don't understand how I harbored all of them at once.

In fact, I don't know how I survived anything . . . the stress . . . the being ran off the road by helicopters . . . the bruises and beatings that I thought would kill me . . . but here I am.

Here . . . as in a place I never envisioned myself. I never woke up one day and said, ' I think I should become a convict and go to prison.' In fact, in my dearest childhood dreams I was always the champion. I was always the girl everyone wanted and wanted to be.

Never this.

And yet . . . I don't know, I've got this feeling . . . like everything is going to be okay. Like that I've got this inner peace that I never really had before. I'm okay with who I am and what I did. I know what I did . . . and I feel guilty about it. In fact, if I could take it all away, I would in a heartbeat. But I can't . . . and I know that . . . so me sitting here wishing I could change the things I did doesn't really help.

All I can do is what I'm supposed to . . . and if paying for what I did means sitting in prison for five years, then fine. I deserve more. But I got off easy . . . Valon was charged more than I was. I regret that.

I should have got more . . . but my attorney kept telling me to keep silent, so I did. In fact there was so much I wasn't charged with . . . I was surprised. My mind still wonders about it. Valon was charged with everything I wasn't.

Maybe Joey was right . . . about me putting my faith into something else. Maybe . . . and maybe that's why I feel at peace, because for once in my life I'm doing the right thing because I chose it.

And right now . . . I'm leaning against this old beaten-in off-white cot watching the sunlight dance between my window bars . . . and I don't want to be anywhere else.

This is what I have to do . . . and yet at the same time, I wish there was more. It just doesn't seem like me sitting here in some overrun prison is the only thing I can do. I don't accomplish much besides the fact that I know I'm doing the right thing.

Joey didn't want me in prison . . . of course . . . and sometimes I wonder why. Sometimes, well most of the time, I wonder what he sees when he looks at me. Does he see the mess I've become? Or does he see something else, like who I'm supposed to be?

Maybe he does see something greater . . . or something that isn't there. Every once in a while I wonder if he has this set image of me . . . and that is all he sees. Maybe it's all a delusion.

It doesn't matter though, I don't care how he sees me . . . because he does _see_ me. He looks past the fading beauty and defensiveness . . . and all that' s left is me.

I know I shocked him when I told him I didn't want to talk to him for a while. It's not that I don't . . . because I do. But I also want to give him what he gave me . . . happiness.

He can't be happy worrying about me, and he can't live with me. I'm bad for him . . . and when I think of the pain I caused him . . . I can't do it anymore. I won't let myself.

I never saw myself living with Joey in a small house with a white picket fence and two point five kids . . . but I always saw him . . . somewhere in my future. But now . . . I have to erase whatever image it was that I saw.

I do . . . or at least did . . . love Joey. It wasn't in a classic tragic way, but I felt it. A small part of me always will feel it . . . and that part is what made me make this decision. Joey was mad at me when I told him he couldn't come to my trial.

In the end though . . . he understood. I know he did. It was clear. He wished me the best of luck, as I did him, and told me that no matter what we're friends. Then he walked out of my hospital room and I haven't seen him since.

It's best for both of us . . . in the long run, I think.

It's really humid in my chamber . . . no . . . cell, chamber sounds to fancy or not fancy enough. I don't know if it is just me or if it is because it just rained actually. But it wasn't the hard, cold rain that chased me through my days of Domino.

It was a soft, gentle rain . . . just enough to wet the ground to refresh everything . . . maybe it's a sign. It's a chance to begin . . . to restart. That's what I have to do, I guess.

Suddenly, I hear the loud clicking of one of the guards against the hard steel floor. I push myself off of my cot and he stands in front of my door . . . I guess that's what I should call it.

He puts the key and somewhere deep insides me urges me to steal it . . . and I know I could, but I ignore that stupid tiny voice that becomes smaller and littler with each passing day.

"You have a visitor." the man says in a gruff voice. He sounds tough. His tan skin, muscular arms and unruly facial hair really add to that perception.

I follow him down a hallway with endless bars. It seems to blend into an image of black after a while.

Nobody ever comes to visit me. I go to counseling . . . I work out . . . I eat . . . but nobody visits me. That's my fault I guess. I had a chance to have great friends . . . but I threw it away. I know that they'll never trust me again. They shouldn't.

I don't deserve it . . . I understand.

He takes me to a room with a small table and a little black phone. A huge piece of bulletproof glass sits between me and my visitor . . . so I sit in the uncomfortable wooden chair put there for my use.

Like I should feel special.

I took a quick glance and see the other person sitting in what I am sure is a much more comfortable chair. For some reason a small smirk crosses my features.

"Seto Kaiba." I said as I picked up the small black phone. I never expected him to visit him to me . . . out of all the people.

"Orange isn't a good color for you Valentine." is how he responded. Obviously . . . does he not think I know that. Yet there is something different . . . something in his voice. I can't place it.

"What do I owe this pleasure?" I say rather sarcastically.

"Mokuba." he said. Well that's vague . . .

"What about him?" I shot back. I didn't mean to sound mad or anything and I wonder how it sounded.

"He . . . well he wanted me to thank you for uh what you did . . . after he understood." he said. His voice sounds like it has heard too much . . . like every word has to be forced out of his mouth and he looks like he's just tired . . . of everything. The world can do that to a person . . . it's a hard lesson to learn . . . and that guilt feeling pushes up through my stomach and it takes all of my strength to stop me from throwing up all over the place.

And yet . . . Seto Kaiba coming all the way to visit me doesn't seem right . . . for an apology . . . that isn't even from him . . .

"Oh, well he's uh welcome . . . and I uh, never intended for things to go that far . . . they just got out of hand." was my reply and it sounded lame to me, and I know it had to have sounded lame to him.

"They shouldn't have ever been in hand." Kaiba said. He sounds definite and firm and it kind of shocks me.

"You know . . . I could make every excuse in the world but their just words. Words don't mean anything . . . it's actions and . . . and . . . I can't take it back or undo it . . . my apology now wouldn't mean much. I am sorry though . . . but not for myself, I'm over the stage of self-pity . . . but I'm sorry for everyone around me who endured my wrath and for those that didn't." is all that I can reply. I say how I feel . . . it's a new thing I'm trying.

"Is that what you tell yourself?" he asks me. I looked at him very confused.

"That I'm over self-pity?" I ask him because I have no idea what he means.

"No . . . that words don't mean anything?" For some reason he seems to be going deeper into this conversation that I really want to . . . but I guess that would be Kaiba in general.

"Yeah . . . that's what I tell myself." Because that is what I do . . . what I have to believe.

"Does it work?" His voice echos through my ears and becomes jumbled with someone's much harsher and yet smoother at the same time. His fades away into someone's that is stronger and sure of himself . . . and it takes Kaiba tapping on the glass to keep me from fading into my daydream.

"Sometimes." It's all I can say . . . because it doesn't always. Sometimes . . . in the dead of night when the only sound is the occasional jingle of keys or a stifled sob from somebody near me . . . I hear words. Words of hate and pain and fear and sometimes they are from me . . . but other times they aren't. Most of the time I hear Valon's and his voice goes on endlessly until daybreak. Then for some reason it disappears into nothingness . . . only to return to my dreams when I'm most depressed.

"I don't think he meant it." Kaiba continues. Half of me wonders if he had been talking the whole time and the other half automatically wonders how weird it is that he is saying what I am thinking about . . . what I obsess over.

"No?" My voice sounds defeated and weak . . . but that is who I am now. I don't want to be strong when I'm not . . . I don't want to hurt or cry . . . but I do.

"Words, wether you know this or not do mean things. You can delude yourself all you want about them not . . . but isn't that what landed you in your situation . . . any of them. Didn't Valon fascinate you by how he beat you in a duel . . . and then promised you things you wanted? I mean . . . you were physically hurt . . . almost dead in my opinion . . . and his style, not unusual, is to kick them when their down. He said you dragged him down so you could be as low as him and the stupid thing is you fell for it." And I want to break the glass and start beating Kaiba so badly . . . he has no idea what I think or feel or . . . I take a deep breath as rage and sadness run through my system.

Obviously the road to self-recovery is much longer and harder than I thought. It's like climbing a mountain and I think I'd rather do that.

"And you think you're perfect? It takes a lot of nerve for you to come here and say that." is all I can muster. He doesn't seem phased at the least.

"No . . . just as perfect as they come." Now I really want him just to stop . . . stop talking and to go away. I was doing fine on my own and I didn't need him to come here and wipe his perfection in my face. I suppose this is his payback . . . so I let his comments wash over me.

"So do tell me just how the big house is treating someone like you." he continues. I don't really want to . . . it sounds to me like he's ready to pounce on anything stupid I say . . . and yet before I can control myself, words seem to fall out of my mouth.

"It's different . . . way different. Being here it's routine, you do the same thing every day in and out and sometimes I wonder if my mind is becoming duller. Sometimes I wonder if in five years, I'll be able to go back into society. I mean . . . it's not like I talk to a lot of people here . . . word spread around here about what a pysco I am and everyone basically steers clear of me." is my only response. What can I say? It's paradise . . . because it's not. But it's right . . .

"So Valentine won't be voted most popular then?" he asks. He sounds like such a jerk, which in turn, proves what an idiot I am. Earlier he sounded so bare . . . truthful, even thoughtful . . . but then he has to cover up any emotions with stubbornness.

"No . . . but then again, I'd never be most popular anywhere I went. So I go through most of my day alone . . . I don't exactly enjoy it . . . but I shouldn't be. And it is above all . . . lonely." I know that sometime very soon I might start crying . . . and I don't want too . . . but I probably will. Sometimes I think of all the friends and lifeI could have had . . . and I realize I wouldn't be living out my greatest fear . . . being alone.

"I must say . . . you have definitely changed from the woman I knew from a few months ago, I mean, you would have gotten out of this. I know that you have enough of your own money to pay your bail . . . or have someone do it for you. You can't fool me, I know that somewhere you have some serious connections . . . so why don't you just walk away from this?" His voice starts to echo again . . . with each passing second it seems to go further and further away.

"Because this is what is right . . . this is all I can do . . . I've changed. I don't know how or when or why, but it's like I finally woke up from this dream . . . this nightmare. And I can see things clearly now. And I know that running away isn't the answer. Turning to others isn't the answer. I've got to fix myself first . . . I've got to actually start doing what is right . . . and until then . . . until I get some sort of forgiveness or peace, nothing matters."

I forgot I was talking to someone really. The phone feels light on my shoulder and my hand has fallen asleep . . . so it's a weird feeling. He doesn't say anything for a while . . . we just sit in silence . . . it's deafening and awkward and I wish a riot would start out just so I could stop thinking . . . because when I think . . . I think of what I did . . . and I hear the voices again.

"And sitting in a cell rotting away helps how?" His voice is so cruel . . . and yet I can pick out the pain. It sounds so similar . . . and in some crazy mixed up way . . . the tone reminds me of myself. The self that was alone and broken . . . all those days ago.

"It's all I can do."

* * *

**(Kaiba's POV)**

"It's all I can do." Her voice drifts through the phone into my ears and I just can't see things from where she sees them. I don't understand how she can just sit around doing absolutely nothing . . . and how she can consider that atoning.

I mean maybe she could . . . Hell if I know . . . it's her life to fix, not mine. It's her fault . . .

"Is it?" I wonder. I'm serious. She just shrugs and gives an annoyed sigh. I can still see the anger within her as she fiddles with the phone cord. Her fingers are long and for some reason skinner then I remember. Her voice sounds defeated and lost . . . and so low. If a huge wind blew in, I could see her being swept away . . . off to a distant land and nobody would ever see her again.

"Don't you think I tried?" her small voice seems to question. I shrug again. I glance over at her and her eyes seem almost watery, like she's trying not to cry.

"I remember . . . being in the hospital . . . surrounded by bright lights and feeling so muchintense pain, and just . . . just hoping and praying that I wouldn't make it through. I . . . cried so much when I woke up . . . for hours . . . I never wanted to, I didn't deserve to and I have no idea why . . . or how . . . but here I am, living and breathing . . . so I figure that somehow I was given another chance to make it okayand this is what I feel is right."

Her voice is cracking and I feel guilt rise in me for making her voice sound that way . . . and I'm not sure why. Something about her and the way she acts fascinates me. I always did respect her for her dueling skills . . . she was a great duelist and she seemed . . . so confident.

She seemed so pulled together, but she never was the same after that tournament. The strength that she had was gone and her love for dueling seemed to have passed with it.

Seeing her downfall always put this small fear in me that it could happen to me. She was just like me and maybe that's why I feel this pull toward her. It's part of the reason I didn't charge her. She was going to die so Mokuba would live . . . and I guess I just couldn't. I don't sit around and think about why I didn't charge her with anything and people always ask me . . . but I don't answer.

I know what she did, who she is . . . but she risked her life for my brother and she almost died in my arms . . . I can't really hate her . . . or dislike her for that matter.

"And um thanks for giving me Mokuba's message . . . but I really don't feel like talking anymore.'' says her exhausted voice. She looks tired, like she could sleep for a few days, and then wake up and be back to herself.

I know it won't happen.

"Thought you were lonely?" I ask. I can tell by the way her head pops up from against her hand that my comment interested her. In fact, she seems to be harnessing a small smile.

"Well . . . Joey's wedding was absolutely boring. Abby was frustrated with just about everything and I was surprised at her hidden vocabulary. The whole playgroup was there as well . . . and it was filled with relatives, tiny and loud children, and of course the press . . . I'd have to say though the best part was watching Tea cry over and over . . . and people telling her to stop. She was wailing and screaming about the how this is one of the best days of their lives and friendship brought them there . . . even Serenity was annoyed with her." I explain.

I see Mai's lips form into a small smile, so I continue.

"But the best part was the after-party. Tea drank a little too much and she managed to walk into several tables before dancing like a complete idiot . . . and sometime after that she passed out . . . and Joey had to carry her to Tristan's car." Mai is definitely laughing now and it was definitely a sight I won't soon forget.

In fact, I plan to remind Tea about it constantly.

"But he's happy?" Mai asks.

"Yeah . . . as happy as the stupid mutt could ever be, I guess." was my response. Do I want to see the guy happy . . . I guess. He still bugs me and every time he talks I want to flee the area . . . but he is fun to make fun of.

"We don't have much longer." Mai then says. I know, honestly, does she think I'm stupid?

"So . . . what do you plan to do when you get out?"

* * *

**(Mai's POV)**

"So . . . what do you plan to do when you get out?" His question is a hard one . . . one I don't think I'll be able to answer. Not now . . . not yet. I doubt in one year or two . . .

He looks at me, like he's expecting an answer . . . to a question I don't know.

"Depends." Is all I say. He stares at me for a second and then laughs.

"You do have sometime to choose . . . but what does it depend on?" Again with the hard questions . . . it's aggravating me horribly.

"How I am . . . what if I don't come back from this?" I ask and I hope that maybe he has an answer . . . and that this isn't one of the things I have to find out for myself . . . but I feel that I will.

"I think you will . . . I think you are." he says as he pushes his chair in, still holding the phone.

"I'll see you next month." he says as he hangs up and walks out.

Wait? He said he was coming back. I don't even know why he came in the first place . . . but part of me doesn't want to know. Part of me wants to keep it new and mysterious. Because it is . . . new.

And maybe this time I won't screw this whole friendship thing up . . . because there is something there. It's small and I'm not sure what to call it . . . but it's there.

I mean . . . we did go through a lot . . . and maybe, well maybe that brought us closer. Maybe we have this small bond . . . and maybe it will grow.

Whoever thought that Seto Kaiba would want to visit some crazy pysco chick in jail . . . me . . . the one who destroyed him and then fixed it. He didn't even charge me with anything . . . I remember him telling me not to worry about it. He never did talk to me about it again . . . he just let it go . . . yet another mystery. I doubt I'll ever know.

I admire the guy. His strength is incredible.

It makes me want to tell my story . . . tell it so that everyone knows . . . and so they won't make the same mistakes I did.

Maybe I should write a book . . . I do have a lot of time on my hands.

Next month . . . yes there has to be something there. He wouldn't do that for anybody . . . perhaps he appreciated what I did.

And if it is just a fluke . . . it won't affect me, because I want it to go slow . . . but I don't think it's a fluke. Part of me feels it . . . and the smile on my face has to mean something.

Because now I know . . . the one thing, I never did before.

I'm Mai Valentine and that's okay . . .

And there is **hope**.


End file.
